mountains and wind
by Herina Olive
Summary: Sorry for letting you wait for so long. It\'s completed, please enjoy it.
1. Preparation for the Challenge

Preparation for the Challenge

Preparation for the Challenge

After that day, Lucrezia received intensive training form her father. They woke up at four in the morning. They practiced running for an hour and a half on high altitude and spent another half hour doing physical exercises to strengthen her fitness. Then she went to school. In the first week, she felt very tired during lessons and struggled hard so as not to fall asleep. She was tired not only because she had to get up early and do exercises, she also had to learn the skills of ice climbing after school. At home, she learned the theory of climbing and survival skills form her father's notes. Every night, she was weary and had a deep sleep.

Three months passed, Lucrezia was getting stronger and her father was satisfied with her performance. During that time, he had been busy, discussing the route of climbing to the summit of K2 with his teammates. There were certainly many things to be settled. They had to get visas, call some mountaineers to be their backup, check and buy the equipments, food and drinks they needed and also gather the most up-to-date information about K2. The last thing for the climbing team to do was to check Lucrezia's ice climbing skills. One of the team members exclaimed, "Francesco, how well you have trained the girl. I would prefer calling her Noin, to Lucrezia, a name sounds like describing a timid girl."

The day has finally come. Lucrezia and her father set off for K2. Her father hugged warmly with his wife, promising he would come back for her. Lucrezia's mother reminded that Lucrezia should be careful and always obedient to her father. Then they started the journey to K2.

The climbing team met at a small village near to K2. There were ten climbing team members, including Francesco Noin; five backup team members including Lucrezia. The climbing team aimed at climbing the summit of K2 while the backup team would climb only to Camp II. Everything was checked once more, from the smallest items like personal notebooks and pens, to the important items like survival kits, ropes and axes. Lucrezia helped them as much as she could. When everything was ready, they started to head for K2.

They had to walk six days in order to get to the site of the base camp. They had to go there on foot since the road was unsuitable for any vehicles. Lucrezia was really astounded by Karakoram Range, which had thirty-five peaks. The peak, which attracted most of Lucrezia's attention, was, of course, K2. "It surely is the perfect mountain." She thought. The peak of K2 was a white pyramid of 12000 feet in height. Although from appearance, K2 seemed to be very stable. Actually, K2 was the pyramid of storms and it was famous for its rapidly changing weather and violent storms. Dangerous as it sounded, it was the ultimate foal of all mountaineers. Everybody in the team was excited; the team members were talking merrily and making jokes on one another. At first, some team members volunteered to carry the things for Lucrezia, but she politely refused. Little by little, she showed her strength. She could not only take care of herself, but also help others. She was delighted that she finally won the trust of other team members. At day, they spent all the time walking; at night, they set up some fires and talked. Lucrezia's father could waste no time. Every night, he taught Lucrezia to recognize the stars in the sky. Whenever Francesco Noin took Lucrezia to a new place, he always taught Lucrezia to recognize the stars. Knowing the position of the stars was vital for survival in the wild. Lucrezia knew this well and tried her very best to learn.

Six days later, they arrived at the site and began to set up the base camp. They spent their whole day setting up camps, resting and packing the equipments needed. In the evening, Lucrezia cooked the dinner for everyone. After the meal, they all gathered together to have the final meeting. The leader of the team repeated the route they were going to take. They would have the alpine style assault and take the classic route. They would start at the south-facing slope, from Godwin-Austen Glacier, through Abruzzi Ridge to the summit. The weather was fine, and the wind speed was moderate. That was a good start, before going to sleep, the communication system was checked again. When everything was finally checked and prepared, everybody said goodnight and go to sleep. Since Lucrezia was the only female in the team, she had to share a tent with her father and two other team members. "Good night, papa." Lucrezia whispered. "Good night, my dear." her father answered. Then there was only the sound of the wind echoing in the mountains.


	2. The Challenge

The Challenge

The Challenge

Next morning, the weather was fine and the sky was clear. Everyone was in a good mood and the morale was high. They left the base camp and began to climb. The snow on the mountain strongly reflected the sunlight and the reflected light pierced into Lucrezia's eye with a sharp blade. Lucrezia did not mind a bit, was to concentrate on climbing. They set up Camp I at around 1000m from sea level. They loaded some of their food, drinks and medicine in the camp. Apart from the team members, some local people were also hired to carry the things. As they climbed higher and higher, the local people left and they had to carry all the equipments and food on their own. After one day, they reached the site for Camp II. Tents were set up and this time, telecommunication systems were set up. Team members were busy unpacking the things and pack them into lighter items that were easier to carry. After helping to set up the camp, Lucrezia had nothing to do. She went out and enjoyed the view. The air was getting thinner and she needed time to adjust. Also, the temperature was low, it was 12oC below the temperature at sea level. These were all normal and expected. Something, however, she noticed was a little bit unexpected. The reflected light was less strong, Lucrezia looked up and saw clouds in the sky. The wind blew harder than before and sometimes the wind blew in gust. Lucrezia shivered and thought about her father. She smiled, she surely had confidence in her father. He was a skilled, calm and strong mountaineer. He had accidents before, but he always managed to come home safely. "It's dinner time, Lucrezia." her father shouted. "I'm coming." Lucrezia gladly shouted back.

Next morning, Lucrezia woke up early and prepared breakfast for everybody. She had to make sure she could see the climbing team's departure. At six o'clock in the morning, the whole team split. The ten climbing team members departed and headed for the summit; the five backup team members had to stay behind in Camp II. The backup team was responsible for providing information to the mountaineers. Francesco hugged Lucrezia warmly, gave her a quick kiss and said, "Be a good girl." her father said. "Please be careful, papa." Lucrezia answered back. The climbing team departed, they began to climb up and soon they were lost in sight. Lucrezia had no time to think about other things, she had to take up responsibility. She was responsible for the radio receiving the information of the weather.

Another ten days has passed, Camp VI was set up. The climbing team was approximately at 5900m from sea level. Every day, they reported back to Camp II at five o'clock in the evening. Francesco only talked little, but he promised Lucrezia to bring her beautiful pictures. The weather was fluctuating and the climbing team had experienced some storms. All the team members were in good conditions. That night, there were violet storms hitting Camp II, the backup team members stayed up all night, none of them slept. After the storm stopped in the morning, they immediately contacted the climbing team, only to find they passed a peaceful night up there. They were ready to climb up to 7000m from sea level.

In the afternoon, the Observatory sent a message to the backup team, telling that a storm was formed near Karakoram Range. Everybody was nervous: the climbing team was at 6000m to 7000m from sea level, which was a vulnerable place for storms. They immediately sent a signal to the climbing team, but this time, the climbing team was not responding. They kept contacting them. The weather outside was getting worse. The clouds covered the sun completely. It was dim everywhere. The temperature dropped further by a few degrees Celsius. The wind speed reached around 70km/h. Various data continuously fed into the system. The weather forecast was not promising. A storm grew stronger in the past several hours and there was another storm forming. Winds were roaring outside, snow continuously snapped down on the tent. They had to shout to each other in order to let everybody to hear their words. The attempt of trying to contact the climbing team failed. They received no information from their friends. The leader of the backup team concluded, "The good news is that they should have enough food, drinks and warm clothing." Although Lucrezia was worried, she appeared to be calm. She did not want to be the burden of the team. She devoted fully to her work and worked in shifts to keep an eye on the weather report.

Next morning, they received calls from the climbing team. The storm has gone and the weather seemed fine. The leader of the climbing team said that they wanted to set up Camp VIII at around 7500m. The leader of the backup team warned that there was another storm forming. After a brief discussion, they decided they should start the climbing immediately and set up Camp VIII before the storm came. The backup team agreed but they insisted the climbing team should contact them at noon. Everyone was nervous, and the tension was great inside Camp II. No one talked except when there was a need to exchange information. The sound of the wind and radio filled the silence inside the tent. Everyone was anxious to wait for the call from the climbing team. They waited and waited, but there were no calls coming or any response form the climbing team. Weather report showed that the storm had developed into a very strong storm. The storm would last for about a whole day. Everyone was worried and continuously tried to contact the climbing team. Suddenly, a thundering sound roared. It was not the sound of the wind. The land rocked. "Was it an avalanche?" Lucrezia quickly thought. She crawled on the ground. Outside, the wind was blowing so hard that it was impossible for them to get out of the tent. They were still trying to contact the climbing team. The shaking was finally over and the thundering sound stopped. The backup team crawled out of the tent. Lucrezia saw the signs of avalanche and she quickly looked up. "Papa is still up there. Has he hurt?" she thought. She quickly searched the mountains: there was no sign of human up there. Maybe her father has escaped or the avalanche did not happened near the climbing team. The backup team leader called Lucrezia back to work again. She took a last look at the peak and went into the tent. 

For the next two days, they could not reach the climbing team. Everyone was striving to keep the spirit high. Lucrezia was deeply worried, but she appeared to be calm and normal. This was the only thing she could do. She did not eat less. She slept according to the schedule and she did all the cooking to let everyone concentrate on the work. On the third day after the avalanche, at half past three in the afternoon, Lucrezia was responsible for the radio. Lucrezia heard a broken message. "Papa, is that you?" she yelled. The leader quickly grasped the earphone and yelled, "This is the backup team in Camp II. Can you read?" Lucrezia turned on the speaker, so that everyone could listen. From the speaker, they could only hear the roaring of the wind in the high altitude. No one responded. Then a voice appeared, "We…are…" Silent again "7100m…from sea level. Severe storms…five…" It was Francesco 's voice. His voice was trembling. The conversation ended with the unfinished sentence. "Five what?" everyone puzzled Everybody's heart was heavy. Accidents may have happened already. The leader just simply told everyone to keep an eye on the data they received. The voice of Francesco echoed inside the head of Lucrezia. "Has he hurt? Did he have enough clothing and food to survive through the storm?" she tried hard to put away these thoughts. She needed to be concentrate on her work.

At night, they had a serious discussion. They agreed that they would try to climb up to search for them. Lucrezia had to stay behind and be responsible for the radio and data. Everything was settled; they went to sleep and prepared for the rescue.


	3. The Rescue

The Rescue

The Rescue

The backup team departed at five in the morning when the weather was more stable. Although it was not suitable to leave Lucrezia alone in Camp II, they could not afford one more man to stay behind. They made sure that the communication systems were working. After they left, they were only different machines and their beeping sounds accompanying Lucrezia. How lonely it was! She shivered at the thought. "No, I mustn't act like this. I have to be strong and independent now!" she ordered herself. Three hours later, a storm hit the camp again. Lucrezia was busy, she had to make sure the tent was safe and at the same time, she had to keep an eye on the machines. The wind outside has nearly torn the tent, it was lifted up twice. Snow flew into the tent continuously. The wind so hard that Lucrezia hardly sat still, she was, too, blown up by the wind. She kept demanding herself to be calm and keep on working. Minutes passed like hours and hours passed like days. She struggled hard and waited for the others to return. After a long time, the backup team finally came back in the midst of the storm. Lucrezia was exhausted and fell asleep after they came back.

When she woke up, it was about four hours after the backup team returned. Everyone was busy. They were checking information, making calls and repairing the tent. She noticed one team member was lying against the luggage and looked at her. She soon found out that he suffered from a broken leg. From him, she learned that they had tried to contact the rescue team nearby, but the transmission of the message has been interfered by the storm. Also, the first mission of finding the climbing team failed.

Lucrezia was restless, she wanted to work and found her father herself. They had successfully sent out the message, but they were not sure whether the rescue team were coming. At dinnertime, Lucrezia raised a question, "Shall we organize another trip to search for the climbing team?" she asked calmly, as if she was doing a case study. All the other members stopped eating and they were surprised. Everyone wanted to raise this question but no one wanted to be the first one. "What're your opinions?" the leader asked the others. They kept silent for nearly an hour. At last, the leader said, "Tomorrow, we will go up again. Two of you stay behind and two of you go with me." Again, everyone obeyed silently.

Lucrezia was chosen to go with the leader. They started the journey at four when the storm became weaker. The storm continued as they went for Camp III. Camp III was empty. The food and drinks were still there. They spent a night there. Next morning, the sky was dim and the weather was getting worse. However, the team decided to climb to Camp IV. They sky grew darker as they walked. The snow on the ground was so soft, "The storm here has been continuing for days." Lucrezia thought. The winds howled loudly and fiercely, the team could hardly move an inch. After struggling for more than five hours, the leader decided to retreat. But the other team members refused. They struggled for five more hours, their position was about 300m away from Camp IV. The leader gave an order to retreat. Lucrezia pleaded, "Please keep going." She could not say other words anymore. "No," the leader shouted sharply, "It is impossible for us to fight against this kind of storm. We'll all get killed. Retreat, I ordered!" Lucrezia nodded sadly, reason came back to her mind: she had to be calm and obedient. She tried to suppress her feeling but when they turned to start the return journey, she cried, "Papa, papa, where are you?" The cry was so painful. Lucrezia made all her effort to cry out, but her voice was lost in the thundering sound of the winds, which rent the air. Three days later, they were back to Camp II again.

They were horrified to see Camp II was destroyed in storms. The tent was torn apart and half of the site was covered with snow. They dug the snow and pulled the two team members out. They also recovered some of their equipments. Another tent was set up, the two team members were moved in. None of them were in danger. Some of the communication systems were broken down. Finally, they managed to send an 'SOS' message to the rescue team nearby. They had been trapped in the storm for seven days before the rescue team finally contacted them. The rescue team would come in a few days' time. The backup team told the rescue team that there were ten people trapped at or above 5000m from sea level, five people at about 2000m in Camp II, and at least two people were injured. After fighting for seven days against the storms, the backup team members were weary. They spirit was low. Twenty days after the avalanche, did the climbing team survive the storms? Have they ever reached the summit? Lucrezia still believed that her father might survivein the storms. She hoped and waited. The storm has not stopped yet, but it was getting weaker. How was the condition of the higher altitude? No one knew because the equipment of checking weather was broken down in the previous storm.

Six days after the conversation with the rescue team, it reached Camp II. The two injured members were taken away to the hospital. The rest were transported to the base camp where they could help in the search of the remaining team. At the base camp, the team received a bad news. The weather was unstable and the rescue team could not reach 5000m above sea level. Lucrezia wanted to phone her mother, but she did not know what to say. At last, four days after the rescue team arrived, the search for the climbing team began. Ten days had passed, no news received from the rescuers yet. Finally, on the eleventh day, it was reported that four people were found near 7000m from sea level. They were quickly transported to the base camp and then to the hospital. Lucrezia was very excited and ran to the helicopter. She was horrified to find two of the climbing team members were badly injured and the other two were dead. She wanted to see them but was told that none of them was her father. Three days passed and other five mountaineers were found. Lucrezia grew more excited and waited for the helicopters to arrive. She saw bodies in bags were put into another helicopter and ready to be transported away. Lucrezia just hoped the fifth one could step out of the helicopter on his own. No, the fifth one was also in a white bag.

The rescue team leader told Lucrezia to go to the hospital and identify the bodies. The white bags were opened one by one. All Lucrezia saw were seven blackened faces. Some of them had their eyes opened; some of them had the expression of great fear; some of the faces were twisted in pain. The most important thing was none of them was her father. Lucrezia asked the rescue team leader near her, "Where is my father?" The eyes of the leader were full of pity, he gently said, "Sorry, Miss Noin. We're afraid that Mr. Francesco Noin has been found yet. Also, the search for him has to be ended."


	4. journey back home

Journey back home

Journey back home

Lucrezia was speechless. What could she say? Although she still had hoped that her father might return to her, she also prepared for the news that her father might be dead. The leader's voice softly continued, "As you know autumn is coming. It is the storming season, we can't continue the search." Lucrezia looked at him directly. He was right, she could not risk other people's lives, although she really wanted to. Her heart sank into endless darkness, suddenly a woman's crying was heard. She was awakened, and realized that a woman was coming in to mourn for her husband. She asked the leader with a clear mind, "What can I do?" The leader told her to phone her mother at once. On the way to the telephone, she saw several women, some with their children, crying. She used her trembling had to take up the phone. The call was answered. "Mama," Lucrezia murmured. "Oh, Lucrezia dear. What are you doing now?" Her mother asked merrily. Lucrezia did not know what to say. "How can I tell mama the news?" she thought. She screwed up her courage, "Mama, papa…" her courage disappeared. "papa will not come back with me." Her voice was as little as a mouse. "That's fine. Just tell him not to get drunken. Oh, I have to hang up now. Bye!" The phone was hung up. When she looked at the wives of the dead mountaineers, she wanted to cry, too. She could feel the tears running down her cheeks, she stroke them away. She could not bear the scene of the mourning of the women. She had to leave, back to her home, her beloved hills and streams. She strove hard to tell the other team members calmly that she was leaving for her home. They kindly offered help but Lucrezia refused.

She arrived at her homeland. She would either take a two-hour bus journey or a six-hour walk back to her home. She chose to walk, she wanted to seek the courage through the walk. How could she tell her mother the news? Her mother would not stand this. She needed to be strong enough to comfort her mother. Maybe she could cry with her mother and start a new life together. As she thought, she lost her mind. Without any notice, she was already in front of her house.

She knocked the door. As she expected, her mother answered the door happily. "Oh, why? You've come back!" she exclaimed. Lucrezia could not move, she had to speak it out, "Mama," she took a deep breath. "Mama, …papa has stayed in K2. He… he has left us." She cried painfully. Her mother was shocked, her soft face twisted a little and then she felt unconscious. Lucrezia stepped forward to hold her. She took her mother to the sofa and gently laid her on it. Lucrezia looked at her mother, "She has a soft face and a tender heart. Papa always told me that it was the tender heart he loved most." Lucrezia thought. As she held her mother's hand, her mother slowly opened her eyes. Lucrezia's eyes were filled tears, she whispered, "Mama, I…" To her surprise, her mother pushed her away. She has lost her mind. She stood up and ran out of the house, calling wildly, "Francesco, Francesco!" Lucrezia sprang to her feet, but she did not have the energy to stand up. She dropped to the floor. The pictures of K2 came back to her mind. K2 was really beautiful, and magnificant. When she closed her eyes, she could feel her beauty. She was told to love mountains since she was merely a child. Winds always came with mountains, she loved winds, too. "Why? Why did these beautiful, beloved things take papa's life?" she couldn't understand, she refused to understand. Her tears kept pouring out, she could not stop it. She bit her lips, she wanted to stop crying. She had to be strong and helped her mother, but she also wanted to have a good cry. The two warring emotions crashed inside her heart. She was exhausted and fell asleep.

When she woke up, it was morning already. Her mother sat on a chair and watched her. Her soft look was filled with sorrow, her eyes reddened and were filled with sadness. Lucrezia slowly rose up and sat beside her mother under her knees. Her mother trembled all over, she sobbed, "Lucrezia," she said. "Papa has…" She could continue. Lucrezia slowly put her arms around her, to let her mother feel her support and presence. "I will be a good girl." She promised. "I will take care of myself and you. You will be proud of me." she said softly beside her mother's ear. Her mother spent her whole day weeping and mourning for her husband. Lucrezia realized that she had grown up and needed to take up the responsibilities of adults.

The last year of the middle school began, Lucrezia went to school as usual. She worked hard to get good results in order to make her mother happy. She appeared to be normal, when her mother mentioned her father, she could smile; when her mother began to cry, she comforted her. Her mother was happy that she had a brave, gentle little girl. Little did she know, Lucrezia was also fighting bravely against the nightmares. Nearly every night, she dreamt of her father. She saw him but she could not reach him. She woke up and stared at the sky. The stars were bright and she identified them until she was tired and she fell asleep. After three months, Lucrezia felt better. One of the reasons was that she devoted to her study. Another reason was that Uncle Guidarini helped her mother and her a great deal. Uncle Guidarini lived on the other side of the hill they lived. He was a good friend to Francesco Noin and his family. He lived alone and was a farmer who owned about a hundred goats. In the past, he usually bought some cheese he made and milk to his friend. After his friend's death, he usually traveled for two hours to visit Lucrezia and her mother once a week. Both the mother and the daughter were grateful towards his kindness. But the sorrow still remained inside Lucrezia's heart. Sometimes, when she came back from school, she would walk to the stream where her father usually went, fascinating that her father would be there again some day. Then sadness struck her heart, and she spent the remaining day reading her father's notes. Her mother still mourned for her husband, but clearly something worried her more. Lucrezia could not find it out, Her mother often had some discussions with Uncle Guidarini when he stayed at Lucrezia's home for dinner.

Eight months after the death of Lucrezia's father, Lucrezia's mother told her daughter Uncle Guidarini would come and live with them and they might get married soon. Lucrezia was shocked. This was totally unexpected. She knew her mother did not transfer her affections for her father to Uncle Guidarini. She guessed she was the reason behind the marriage: her mother thought she needed a father. Lucrezia painfully realized that she was not strong enough and made her mother worried. The marriage took place quietly a month later. Lucrezia blessed the couple truthfully, she hoped that Uncle Guidarini would take care of her mother. She could still call him Uncle Guidarini. 

Summer was coming again. The sound of the wind and also the mixture of birds' songs again filled the late spring air. She could not enjoy these, they reminded her of her father. She still has not recovered from the shock of her mother's marriage and she simply could not tolerate the memories of losing her father. One night, she woke up from the same nightmare, she quickly found a piece of paper and a pen. She wrote something on the paper, dressed up and packed her things into a bag. She slipped the paper into her mother's bedroom. Then she went out of the house.

On the paper she wrote:

Dear Mama and Uncle Guidarini,

I am sorry. I will always be very sorry.

Yours sincerely,

Lucrezia


	5. New Life in Academy

New life in Academy

New life in Academy

It was after-school time in Lake Victoria Academy. Noin, a name which Lucrezia called herself, packed her books and notebooks and headed back to her dormitory. The training in the Academy was really intense. It demanded highly on both mental and physical strengths. She had to learn some fighting skills and at the same time, political and historical issues. For fighting skills, Noin believed that she had enough strength, but her skills needed to be improved. However, for political and historical issues, she found these were a little bit difficult. Since she lived in a remote place all her life, she had lesser knowledge about these issues than other cadets. She was working hard to catch up with other cadets. A she thought about the things she learned in lessons, suddenly someone shouted at her, "Cadet Noin," Noin looked up and saw a group of senior cadets. "thirty push-ups NOW!" one of them ordered. Noin obediently laid down her books and began to do the push-ups.

"Cadets Noin, thirty push-ups NOW!" A junior cadet heard the command. The voice came around the corner. This blonde-haired cadet turned around to see what happened. He was surprised to hear a female's voice, "One, two, three…" Every word was said with determination. He looked at the back of the female cadet with amazement. She did the push-ups with energy and correct way. "Twenty seven, twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty" she quickly stood up and reported, "finished". She said without hesitation or even gasping. The group of senior cadets grinned. They pushed her against the wall, teasing her, "What is your name, lassie?" She turned her head away; the blonde-haired cadet could not see her face. The group of senior cadets left and before they left, they kicked over her books and laughed. The female cadet sighed, she picked up her books and went away.

"Thirty push-ups" thought Noin, she smiled. She did not mind a bit. She was able to finish thirty push-ups under her father's instruction two years ago. She had come to Lake Victoria Academy three months ago. She had to stay here for three years to undergo intensive training. After the training, she would become a soldier in a special unit called oz. She wanted to be soldier because she wanted to live a regular life and also she wanted to become stronger. There were far more male cadets than female cadets. She was often teased by the male cadets and tested by the senior cadets. "I'll win their trusts someday." she thought. She walked and walked, at last she came to her room, which was shared by three other female cadets and began to revise the materials again. 

Lake Victoria Academy was situated near Lake Victoria and a hill with trees and brushes flourished on it. It provided trainings for cadets who were selected to become oz soldiers. The trainings were quite harsh, by the end of the training; only half of the cadets could graduate successfully. The training was divided into three terms, one year as a term. The cadets received the trainings of the skills of piloting and basic repairing of mobile suits; manipulating different kinds of equipments, e.g. radar, transporting vehicles and communication systems; computer hacking and also the cadets had to learn about the political and historical issues. Skills of piloting mobile suit were the most important skills a cadet had to learn, as all soldiers needed to pilot mobile suits in battlefield. Another important programme was to train cadets to fight in conditions of zero gravity. The best cadets would have the chance to station in space.

After dinner, Noin went to the Virtual Reality Room to practise the skills of piloting mobile suit. As a junior cadet, she could only practise the skills through virtual reality. After registration, she slipped into a cabin, a screen flashed as the system turned on. She could choose to battle with the computer or with other cadets in the room. Just then, the screen showed that another cadet had registered and chosen to battle with her. The identities of both cadets were not showed to both cadets. Noin agreed by clicking the icon. The battle began. At first, Noin was a little bit reserved, as she wanted to check her opponent's ability. But later, when she found that her opponent was trying to beat her by every means, she fought back. As she fought, she realized that the skills of her opponent were higher than hers. Her opponent was fast, but Noin also reacted accordingly. She was cool-headed and always waited for a chance to attack. However, her plan failed. Her opponent was too fast. About 60% of her time, she spent on defending. "Am I fighting with a senior cadet?" she asked. "All right, I'll try my best to battle with you." she said to herself. She drew the shield towards her and hid her laser behind it. She escaped several attacks from her opponent. She then quickly drew her laser to hit her opponent from the sides. It was a true personal combat. None of them had advantage at that time. Suddenly, there was an announcement, both on the screen and from the speaker, "Cadet Noin, please report to the Staff Room I immediately." She locked the system, freezing the motion of her part, then she typed a message to her opponent: Thanks for a nice combat. She then left the cabin and went to the staff room. She smiled and thought, "Finally, I can get along with those 'big robots'" The door of another cabin were also opened, the same cadet with long, blonde hair could just see the back of Noin again.

Noin had never seen any mobile suits before she came to the Academy. At first, she found it hard to fight inside those mobile suits by simply controlling the control panel. Luckily, she has adapted to the control unit and began to show improvements in her controlling and fighting skills. She thought she was happy in the academy because she was going to be stronger person. The busy life also prevented her to look back to her past. All she wanted to do now was to become a good soldier. She never thought about war, but immersed in the studies she deeply interested in at that time. 


	6. A New Friend

A New Friend

A New Friend

Noin was in a new class. It was only her sixth month in the academy; she was promoted to another class of the same grade due to her good performances. She was really excited about this. She has just finished the morning section of her first day in her new class, and learned some political issues and skills of repairing mobile suit. Her hands still had the smell of the grease and were stained. She decided to wash her hands before going to canteen and having her lunch. She quickly prepared the books and notes for the afternoon section and prepared to go.

At this time, some cadets of the same class came to her, blocking her way to the door. One of them started, "I suppose we should help her to repair the robots, right?" The other cadets answered this question by producing several laughs. Noin answered, "If you please, may I go out?" Another cadet said, "As a good girl, you should politely asked, 'Would you please let me out?' " Noin was angry, but she did not want to fight. She looked directly at the cadets and kept silent. They were all male cadets who were taller and bigger than her. So what? Noin knew she was also a strong person. As the only female cadet in this class, she had to gain respects from the other cadets first. She had to remain calm and cool because she did not want to be the first one who did a wrong thing in that situation. One cadet stretched his hand out and touched her face, Noin quickly stepped back. The cadet teased her, "No wonder she can promote to the best class in this grade. Look, she's really pretty!" after an evil smile, "Hey, show us the charm which you showed to the instructors." Noin was angry but yet she struggled to stay calm. She hated discriminations, especially those against female. She always thought that men and women were equal and they could be equally strong after being trained. What could she do? Explaining facts did not help at all; the only way to solve this problem was to outsmart them. But how? She said, "I believe that it is now lunch time. We are all equally strong; if you want to challenge me, please do it during lessons." She was teased again. "We should understand that good girls don't fight, or they can't get good husbands!" Noin was then really angry, her eyes showed sparks of anger. "If you think because I am a female, I will not fight with you. You're wrong." She spoke each word clearly to let them hear. "OK, then fight or you will not have your lunch." was the answer. "If you want to fight with her to show that you are stronger, then please fight with me first." A new male voice was heard. It came behind Noin. Noin looked at the male cadet, who was her classmate. He wore a mask, but his long, blonde hair fell gracefully from his hidden head. His eyes were hidden and only the mouth was shown. He was tall, even taller than that group of male cadets. "So you have already attracted one of our classmates." One of them teased. "Thanks for your help. However, I don't need a champion." Noin said politely. She was really surprised by this cadet. She has not seen him before. "So you will fight, right?" "No, I will not." Noin simply answered. "I will not fight because I don't see any reason for me to fight." "How can the instructors let an idiot join our class?" one cadet said in a high voice. "May I be excused?" Noin asked again, and this time, she meant to force her way through. "No." the boys pushed her back. "Fight or stay." It was very hard to tolerate what they said. "Trust me. You and I are going to beat them." The masked cadet said. "No, I really don't want your help." Noin said, and then sharply to the annoying cadets, "I will fight with you, but remember I fight because I have to, not because of any reasons you mentioned!" She was ready to fight then. One of the cadets attacked her first, then followed by the other two. Noin escaped from all their attacks. They were very angry and the three attacked her together. She received some punches, but she did not fall down. Suddenly, she felt something hard and cold hit her. She searched for it and was knocked onto the floor. It was a heavy metal ruler. The ruler was about to hit her face and at the very moment, the blonde-haired cadet attacked the cadet holding the ruler. "She's without weapon." He said, punched the cadet. "Don't you know what's fair competition?" He then attacked the other cadet which had not attacked Noin yet. He shouted to Noin, "Get up, you've got to beat the remaining three on your own." Noin stood up and began to fight again. The blonde-haired cadet was trying to stop the other two to attack her. He was really a good fighter, and the two quickly stood aside. As for Noin, she struggled hard to beat the three. She could not beat them as her skills were not good enough, but she managed not to be beaten. As her opponents found this, they cursed her and retreated. Noin was relieved after they had gone. She also realized that she had to overcome many difficulties in order to gain others' respects. She saw the blonde-haired cadet looking at her and approaching her. She said, "Thank you for helping me. I hope you won't get into trouble." He simply said, "I just think that you should have a fair combat. You bet the three by yourself." They both stood for awhile. Noin noticed that the hair of the cadet was in platinum gold, instead of blonde. He was much taller than her. She finally introduced herself, "I am Lucrezia Noin. Please call me Noin." The cadet said with a smile, "My name is Zechs Marquise. Call me Zechs." After a while, he said, "I believed that we should go straight to the canteen, otherwise we will have nothing to eat."

When they arrived the canteen, as Zechs said, they had nearly nothing for their lunch. Most of the food were eaten and they could only have bits of everything to eat. They had the lunch together and during that time, Zechs suggested they should go to the Virtual Reality Room that night. Noin was surprised. She stopped eating and solemnly asked, "Why do you want me to be your opponent?" She was not sure whether Zechs was her friend or not. Zechs noticed her surprise and said with a hidden smile, "We haven't finished the combat yet." He paused a little while to let Noin think for a while. "Remember the combat three months ago? You just typed a message and went away." Noin remembered then, "You're the one practicing with me?" she said as her eyes showed great excitement. "I always wanted to find who he/she is. I am glad you tell me at last." They were both satisfied with the idea. It was good to have a skilled opponent, also they wanted to know how much did each other improve during these three months.

That night, they met at the Virtual Reality Room. They fought against each other in the system. After struggling for two hours, Zechs won. Both of them were amazed by the skills of the other. Zechs locked the system and typed, "Thanks for a nice combat." Noin smiled when she read the message, she whispered, "I'll beat you next time, Zechs."


	7. The Mask

The Mask

The Mask

It was then the second year for Noin in Lake Victoria Academy. She gained the third place in her grade in the first year. She promised herself she would at least be the second at the end of the second year. Zechs and her became great friends. They often practiced together, since there were no other compatible opponents in the grade. By the end of the first year, Noin still had some difficulties with the gadgets. She could deal with the communication systems, since she had used it before. But for other devices, some of them she had never seen before. Luckily, Zechs seemed to know a lot about them and he often helped her. Noin was grateful to him, but she had little to give him back except some little myths she knew. 

In the second year training course, there were more training about the combating skills and fighting strategies. Combating skills demanded highly on the physical fitness of the cadets, because from the beginning of the second year, all cadets have to practice in real mobile suit. The cadets would experience the heat coming from the engine and the vibration caused by collision. They also had to balance themselves in the cockpits. It was the time when the physical fitness of the cadets was shown. Noin managed to pass all physical fitness tests easily and finish the practice each time. Zechs did the same, until then, Noin was his only opponent. Noin became an important friend to him, although he used to be left alone, the encouragement and support given by her meant a lot to him. They competed and improved together. Sometimes Noin could beat him but he always believed that he could beat her next time. The instructors were satisfied with their performances and even told them to practice with the senior grade students. Noin was happy with this arrangement. She slowly adapted to a life without both her parents.

One day, Zechs woke up early and saw Noin running our of the Academy playground. He was surprised, Noin was a good student and there was no reason for her to run away. But Noin returned at breakfast. When she heard Zechs asked about the things happened to her in that morning, she smiled and told Zechs to meet her at five o'clock the day after with a pair of trainers. Zechs began to understand what she did but surprise still came. In the next morning, Noin ran continuously for an hour without rest and kept on accelerating when she was running uphill.Although Zechs did not tell Noin, he was a little bit out of breath. He was really amazed that Noin had a two-hour run before any training of the day. From that day onwards, he insisted to practice running with her. Little by little, his physical strength improved further, although Noin's strength seemed as good as him all the time. They usually took a rest near a stream and ran back to the Academy at seven o'clock unnoticed.

They always had a good time when they were running together. Sometimes they would talk, but most of their time, they just concentrated on running. Noin loved the hill and actually she enjoyed the scene rather than running. On one hot day, they again practiced running. It was so hot and humid that they had to take a rest near the stream. Noin went away to the upper part of the stream where she could not see Zechs. Noin did this before, so that Zechs could take off his mask and refreshed himself. Noin respected the right of Zechs of keeping his own secrets and never asked him about his past and his face. Zechs thought of this, he smiled, "Noin is really a good friend and a trust-worthy friend. When everyone is curious about my past, she helped me to defend myself. When everyone stands against me, she stays with me. Will she be the same in the future?" Just when he thought about this, he heard Noin exclaiming. Noin was calm and stable; she seldom showed great fluctuations in emotion. "Did something wrong happen to her?" Zechs thought and quickly ran upstream. He pushed the bushes away and at that time, Noin turned around and smiled brightly, saying, "Look, Zechs!" She showed the brightest and the most beautiful smile that Zechs had ever seen on her, but that smile quickly disappeared and Noin rapidly turned back against him. Zechs was surprised, "Noin, what happened?" "Zechs, your mask…" Noin whispered. Zechs finally realized that he did not wear his mask. Noin was not certain what to do, she slowly said, "Zechs, this baby deer is beautiful." Then she slowly released the baby deer. The baby deer looked at Zechs in an innocent way. Noin continued, "If it stays here, it will be in danger, I am taking it to a place further upstream. See you in the canteen, bye." She picked up the deer and disappeared in the wood. "The deer is, indeed, beautiful." thought Zechs as he went back to get his mask. "But why Noin seems sacred by me? Is she afraid of seeing me without mask?" He puzzled and jogged back to the Academy.

When he arrived at the canteen, Noin was already there. After he took the food, he chose to sit beside Noin. He began, "How's the baby deer?" "It was released at a place where I heard noises made by some deer. It quickly ran away from me. I think it has returned to its mother now." She was not looking at him while speaking. Zechs knew the reason behind well and said in a low voice, "If you promise not to tell any soul on Earth what had happened, it will be fine." Noin was surprised by the cold and hard voice. She thought Zechs would blame her or even scold her, she never expected such a cold and hard tone with those words. "Please forgive me, Zechs." Noin looked directly to Zechs, only found that Zechs was looking at her coldly. Although he was wearing his mask, she could still find the coldness. None of them spoke to each other on that day.

After Zechs went back to his private dormitory, he lowered his mask and looked at the mirror. He has changed a lot since he went to the Academy. He has grown taller, although he was taller than other teenagers of the same age before he came to the Academy. His mask still fitted him well and he has already accustomed to it. No one has seen his face before except his parents, his sister and his friend, Treize. And then, it came to Noin. He was a bit angry not at Noin but at himself. Why was he so careless? He should know that his face could not be unveiled or otherwise he could run into deep trouble. Did Noin do this on purpose? No, it couldn't happen. She was his best friend in the Academy and in the world. Did she betray him? He closed his eyes for a while. There seemed to be a world full of enemy and the number of people he could trust was less than five. He wanted Noin to be one of them but he had to find out. He decided to observe Noin for the next few months. At the same time, there was news about his little sister, who he had not seen for years. She has moved to a new place to live and became sick. He wanted so much to see her, but he could not. He could not let other people know she was his sister or even he cared about her. "For God's sake, get well soon, Relena." He whispered to the stars at night.

Noin felt a little bit guilty, although she had done nothing wrong. She thought it was not right to see her friend's face. Furthermore, the way Zechs treated her has changed. His manner was cold and reserved. She tried not to think too much about this. The best way to solve the problem was to remain silent and treated Zechs just like before. She hoped that Zechs would understand some day. As days went by, Noin noticed that Zechs was worried about another thing but she could not tell. She wished she could ask him with the old, friendly manner, but Zechs stayed away from her. At last, she wrote to him, 'I am really sorry for the thing happened. Please accept my apology. If you need a back-up, I will always be there for you.' The second year ended, Noin gained the first place in class with Zechs in the second place. Noin was not really happy because she knew the trouble that Zechs had distracted him and made him less concentrated on the study.


	8. I understand how you feel

"I understand how you feel

"I understand how you feel."

It was the third year in the Academy. Zechs and Noin were the senior cadets. They were the most outstanding students in the school because both were good at combating skills and strategies. The instructors were pleased with their performances and they both gained the respect from all other cadets. However, none of them had true friends in the Academy. Zechs was less cold towards Noin, but he was still reserved. Noin did not want to push him, so she decided to wait until Zechs realized the friendship and support given by her. Actually, Zechs felt that all, she was so steady and stable, but she was not the one who he could rely on. She could never understand him.

One afternoon in the end of the first term, there was a special announcement to all the third year cadets. They were all called to report to the underground base of the Academy. When they all gathered there, they were told that the afternoon practice and lessons were cancelled. They had a mission. There was a rebellion force at around two hundred kilometres away form the Academy. Intelligence reviewed that it might plan to attack the Academy with other rebellion forces, which would arrive one week later together. Due to special reasons, military agency OZ was not able to send a team to eliminate the rebellion force, so it was decided that the senior cadets would finish the mission. "This is not a game, this is not a practice. This is a war, a mission to be finished. Your mission is to eliminate the force before its alliance come." The instructor commanded solemnly. The rest of the afternoon was spent on different meetings of explaining and analyzing the strength of the rebellion force, checking weapons and mobile suits, groupings and making up different fighting strategies. Not even one cadet was allowed to leave the underground base. The whole mission must be confidential.Noin and Zechs were assigned to different groups. All people were busy and there were no private conversations heard in the base. Every mobile suit and weapon was checked once again and also the strategy was reviewed. All cadets rested in the underground base and prepared for the mission.

Next morning at four o'clock, the cadets left the Academy. They were transported by a carrier plane with their mobile suits. After an hour, they were dropped to a wood and prepared to eliminate the rebellion force. They planned to attack it from two points. There were one hundred and six cadets in total with three instructors. They piloted their mobile suits to the meeting places located about four hundred metres away from the base of the rebellion force. They were hidden by the thick layers of canopy and brushes. They stood still to wait for the order to attack. Some of them were busy tuning their radios and hop to catch the messages sent by the rebellion force. They waited for two hours and when the instructors shouted through the communication system, "Attack!" All the engines were started and the cadets pushed forward to the rebellion's base. When they approached the base, they met the mobile suits, which were defending their base. However, they were too weak and were quickly destroyed. All things happened as expected and they finished the mission. The instructors then ordered the cadets to destroy the base. The cadets were in excitement when they received the order. They thought they had finished the mission and began to destroy the base wildly. 

All of a sudden, when a team started to search inside a warehouse in the eastern side of the base, some mobile suits jumped out and attacked the cadets. Two of the cadets were killed instantly. Siren of the base was heard again and this time, there were about one hundred mobile suits coming out from different corners and the underground base. The mobile suits in the second-round attack were more advanced and better equipped. The situation was made worse when the cadets and instructors found out that those pilots were more skillful than them. The instructors ordered to retreat. However, the rebellion force wanted to destroy them. Every cadet tried their best to escape, but about one eighth of the cadets were shot down. The instructors were busy giving instructions to retreat, some of the scared, and escaped mindlessly. Noin was busy helping others to escape. She managed to destroy some mobile suits following them. However, she ran out of bullet and the only weapon she could use was the laser sword. She fought hard in order to help others to escape. As she fought on, she slowly realized that all soldiers were trained to kill. She was shocked by this idea, since she had never realized it before. She was slowly influenced by OZ, and she could not bear the thought of killing others without pity. While she was thinking about this, she was shot and her mobile suit was damaged. She had to get out of the mobile suit quickly before the mobile suit exploded. After she made sure the exit was cleared, she got out of her mobile suit and ran quickly, hoping to catch the instructors up. As she made her way to escape, she found that Zechs was lying on the floor bleeding and unconscious. He was in the group, which was the first to encounter the rebellion force in the second-round attack. There was no mobile suit near him, so he must too on the way for escape. There was debris of metal from mobile suit beside him, so Noin thought that he must be hit by the debris and knocked unconscious. Some soldiers from the rebellion force were ready to take him away. Without a second thought, Noin attacked the soldiers, desperately struggled to rescue her best friend. She was injured but she still managed to bring Zechs out of the rebellion base. However, all the surviving cadets were gone with the instructors. They were left behind, two hundred km south from the Academy. The nearest town was about one hundred km away. 

"How could we go back?" thought Noin. They must first escape from the rebellion force unnoticed, then they could find a way out. As Noin carried Zechs to the woods, she quickly examined the surrounding environment. It was a typical tropical environment with a few bushes in the ground layer. She must find a place to hide first and also she must take care of the wounds of Zechs. She loaded him down, who was still unconscious, near a stream. Suddenly, one thing caught her notice.

When Zechs opened his eyes, he saw light rays gently fell on him through the leaves high up. "Where am I?" He thought. He could not figure out where he was, but at least he was not in prison. There was something wet on his forehead and on his arm. He raised his right arm and wanted to take that thing away, he was surprised that he was no in his mask. A calm voice was heard, "Don't try to get rid of the ferns. Take a good rest and think of the punishment you'll give me because I unveiled you." Noin said with a smile. She seemed satisfied with the condition of Zechs. Then she gently felt his head, her fingers penetrated into Zechs'hair. "Just tell me if you feel pain." She gently pressed against Zechs' head with her fingers. She observed Zechs: he was OK. After the checking, Noin told Zechs that he had no broken bones and the wet mass of ferns was used to stop him bleeding. "Do you mean they are herbs?" Zechs asked. "Yes." Noin simply answered. Then Noin briefed Zechs about their situation and the two quickly made plans to escape. But their hiding place was not a good one and they must go away quickly. At that moment, the sounds of machine guns were heard. They were alerted. They were not sure where the soldiers of the rebellion force were, but they must be somewhere near. Noin helped Zechs to go to another hiding place, which was behind bushes. That place seemed to be safer. The soldiers were just shouting a few feet away without noticing their presence. After ten minutes, the soldiers decided to go away. 

At that very moment, a really big bird landed on the bushes near them. The soldiers were terrified and fired madly. Zechs quickly picked up two sticks and threw them away, distracting the soldiers. After the soldiers left, both of them were relieved. "Zechs, are you OK?" Noin asked, her voice was a little bit strange. "Yes, how about you? Besides, we have to move." Zechs answered, looking directly at her. "Then we will move, but I can't carry you anymore." Noin's voice was really strange. Zechs quickly searched Noin with his pair of piercing blue eyes. He found there was a small pond of blood near the thigh of Noin. "Can you walk?" Zechs asked with concern. Noin nodded and they began to move. But they had to stop after several steps. The blood was gushing from the wound. Zechs began to examine the wound. It was a typical wound caused by shooting. Luckily, the wound was not near artery, however he had to stop the bleeding once. Without a thought, he placed the ferns on his wounds onto Noin's wound. "How do you know about this?" Zechs asked, hoping to get some answers from Noin. "Papa told me.' Noin answered. "So it's a kind of herbs." Zechs said. "I'm going to get some more. Stay here." He quickly left and found some more herbs near the stream. He pressed the herbs hardly against Noin's wound. After half an hour, blood still gushed out from the wound and Noin seemed getting weaker. Sometimes, Noin even wanted to 'fall asleep'. This was an alarm to Zechs. He asked Noin as many questions as possible. Noin's face was getting paler, Zechs was very nervous because the herbs seemed not working. His hands were covered with blood. He observed Noin with concern. Sometimes, Noin would smile to him, trying hard to cease Zechs' nervousness. She tried hard to think of the ways, which can help herself. But the exhaustion and loss of blood failed her. She wanted to help Zechs, knowing that he was as tired as her, but she could do nothing to help. Just when she wanted to 'fall asleep' again, she found that Zechs examined her face with great care and his eyes showed his concern. He was deeply worried, Noin was bleeding severely and he could do nothing but watch her getting weaker and weaker. "Tell me, Noin. What else did your father tell you?" Zechs asked seriously. Noin thought hard for awhile, at last she whispered, "Spider-web…papa once said that spider-web could heal wounds." Without a second thought, Zechs prepared to leave. "Stay awake," said Zechs gently, his voice was full of concern. "wait for me." He patted her shoulder in a friendly and supporting way. "Zechs," Noin called him with her weak voice, "the colourful spiders are very poisonous. Don't…" She then received a gentle smile as a reply.

"I must get the spider-web as quickly as possible. Noin can't wait anymore." thought Zechs as he ran through the forest and observed the surroundings. Suddenly, he saw a huge spider hanging on its web. It was a big, colourful spider and, needless to say, it was very dangerous and deadly poisonous. "For the sake of Noin, I must get it." Then he slowly climbed up the tree where the web was hanging on. He tapped the web gently with his knife. The spider then quickly crawled near Zechs, he quickly stabbed it. However, he did not expect the 'shell' of the spider was so hard. The knife slipped off from the spider and it was just a few centimeters away from Zechs. After realizing it was being attacked, it began to crawl even faster towards Zechs. This time, Zechs could not miss the chance anymore, he pinned the spider to the tree as hard as he could. "What a narrow escape!" he thought. He quickly collected the spider-web and searched for more. After searching for twenty minutes, Zechs returned. Noin weakly smiled, her bleeding slowed down a little bit. As Zechs put the mass of spider-web into her wounds to block it, Noin shivered. Zechs immediately took off his jacket and gave it to Noin. "Don't sleep, my friend." He said with a smile. Noin has never seen that kind of smile on Zechs' face before. It was so warm and gentle, but she was really tired and against Zechs' will, she slept.

Zechs observed Noin carefully, she was breathing smoothly and rhythmically. "She was fine." thought Zechs. "We'll start the journey again when she wakes up." He looked closely at Noin, she was sleeping peacefully. She always had a peace of mind. He envied her. Noin wanted to be a soldier because she wanted to be a stronger person. How about him? He was burdened by revenge, hate, murder and also other responsibilities. The peace of mind left him long time ago. How could he envy her? They came from totally different world, she could never understand him. She was just a friend who risks her life to save him. Was that not important? He was confused. 

When Noin woke up, it was ready the next morning. She could walk and so they started the journey back to Lake Victoria Academy. They hoped to get to the nearest town in two days and made a call back, but first they had to pass through the forest first. The first day passed without any excitement. They quietly walked and gathered some fruits to eat. On the way, Noin told Zechs which kind of plants was useful and what things they could eat. Zechs has never heard these before, and he eagerly learned it. On the second day, they gathered some plants to eat, Noin even caught a fish and so they set a small fire and cooked. Just as they finished the lunch, they heard footsteps again. They quickly hid themselves. It was a group of five soldiers passed by. They seemed in a good mood and were laughing and joking merrily. One of them said, "I wonder where the two little things are." Of course, Zechs and Noin knew who were "the two little things". "It's the funniest joke ever, I can't imagine why they sent cadets to attack." One of them choked. "Thanks to Major Ford. He fooled the OZ." "I must say he is a good spy." Zechs and Noin looked at each other, they finally understand the reason why OZ sent them there. "You're still reading that foolish book." One of them exclaimed to another. "It's good book full of jokes." The other waved the book in the air. It was 'The Ideal World'. "Don't tell me you believe in the jokes written by the dead king of the Sanc Kingdom." One of them laughed. Noin surely heard Zechs grinding his teeth. A soldier entered the conversation, "If you think they are jokes, you've already thought highly on them. To me, they were just loads of rubbish!" "Rubbish! Rubbish!" the other echoed gaily. Zechs was about to move, Noin saw the sparks of anger in his blue eyes. Noin held him from behind, he was in the midst of anger and he wanted to go out. Noin quickly stopped him, he was surprised. After the soldiers went away, Noin asked, "What's happening, Zechs?" Zechs was silent and did not have any eye contact with Noin. Several seconds later, Zechs slowly began, "They should not make jokes on the dead king." His voice was hollow-like. "They shouldn't tease at somebody who cannot fight back." He was not wearing his mask; Noin could clearly see his empty and lost look. Still standing closely beside him, Noin softly said, "I understand." and she wanted to pat his back. She never expected the act by Zechs followed. The anger came back to Zechs, he pushed her hand away. The force was so strong that Noin, unprepared for that, fell down. At the same time, Zechs said quietly but angrily, "Don't pretend to understand me. Do you have your father died before you own eyes?" Noin was quite shocked, but she recovered almost immediately. She looked at him and said, "I'm going to find some food. Stay here." She left without looking at him.

"Do you have your father died before your own eyes?" the questions echoed inside Noin's head. Actually, when she thought of the herbs and the spider-webs, she has already thought of her father. Her dear papa, the avalanche, K2 and many other things came back to her mind all at once. She could never forget the faces when she examined the bodies of her father's friends. It was still too painful for her to remember and she needed a good walk to calm her down. On the other hand, Zechs regretted deeply on what he had done and said to Noin. "How come I hit her at that time? She risked her life to save me. Such a trust-worthy friend she is. When she started saying something encouraging and supportive, I got outraged." He thought. He usually could control his emotion on 'that incident' before other people, but why he couldn't do this for Noin. When Noin first saw his face, he became cold and reserved. And then, when someone was talking about the dead king, he was mad at her again. "It's not fair." Thought Zechs. He smiled bitterly; fate never played a fair trick on him… why?

Noin returned with some fruits and water, she plainly said, "Here are some fruits. Sorry for what I have just said. You're right." She paused with a bitter smile. "I never saw papa died before me, he just never returned." Her eyes showed the pain she felt, it never ceased, and they came back again. Zechs did not know what to say; he did not expect such answers. "But at least, he died happily." She added. "Why?" Zechs asked. "Because papa can stay in his beloved mountain forever. Just like telling me, 'Noin, this mountain was really beautiful place.'" Noin looked up high in the sky. "Noin, do you mean if one died because he had to defend his belief, he could die in peace with regret?" Zechs asked. Noin nodded without saying a word. Silence followed, none of them talked for the rest of the day. 

Three days later, they reported back to the Academy. They told a general in a higher rank about what they heard in the woods. They were awarded for being outstanding and successfully finished the whole mission. They received a medal each. Since Zechs fully displayed his excellent mobile suit skills and also his daunting speed in this mission, he gained the reputation of 'Lightning Baron'.


	9. Two in One

Two in one

Two in one

Every senior cadet was excited because it was the graduation. It seemed that all senior cadets were very well trained and they all could become pilots.As everyone expected, Noin and Zechs gained the first two places. Zechs was the first and Noin was the second. Although there were rumours among the cadets, only Noin knew that Zechs beat her fairly and she was so glad that Zechs could gain the first place and get the honour he longed for. As the graduation ceremony was approaching, Zechs seemed to become more silent. He was busy preparing for his new life as a pilot and a warrior. He even didn't have time to have his meals with Noin. As for Noin, she has tasted the war and did not want to participate in the war anymore. She chose to become a trainer.

It was still the time for the graduation ball. Noin did not like balls. She felt that everyone was trying one's best to hide behind the masks they made. Everyone was pretending to be smart, clever and nice. She hated this and so she chose to leave the ball early. Noin went to the roof of the Academy main building, when she could see the stars. She immediately recognized Hercules. She made a wish, "Star light, star bright, First star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, Have the wish I wish tonight." "So, you're making a wish." A familiar voice was heard. It was Zechs. He slowly walked towards her. "So, you leave the ball early too." Noin answered. Zechs smiled seriously, "Tell me, Noin, what kind of wish did you made?" Noin shook her head and did not answer. She looked at the sky; she wanted Zechs to enjoy the sight, too. He was always busy and if he had free time, he would hide himself in his private dormitory. Both were silent for awhile. Suddenly, Zechs took Noin's arm and began to pull her away. Noin wanted to protest but Zechs was firm in his will, so Noin followed Zechs, puzzling what Zechs thought at that time.

They passed the playground and some buildings and went to Zechs' private dormitory. It was dark inside; the curtains were drawn, blocking all the lights from the outside. Zechs guided Noin to sit on his bed. He seemed to be very good at feeling his way in the room and he pressed Noin down on his bed. Noin did not know what to do. She never expected him to do such things. She asked, "Zechs, are you trying to tell me something?" She heard the sound of the mask knocking against the table. "Noin, I will leave tomorrow." Zechs' voice was heard again. "You can't be my friend anymore." Noin did not understand and she waited. "I am going to be a different person." His voice shook. "So different that you will not want to be my friend anymore." "What's happening, Zechs? Are you without your mask now?" "Noin, can I confess to you?" Noin answered simply, "Yes." Zechs began, "I don't know how to start. I am still not clear about the whole thing. It was so confused, but I have to take up the responsibility. I have no choice, but to go forward and fight my way out. Yes, fighting and struggling, the only to things I've done for more than ten years. I don't really care what things I have to do, I have just one goal—revenge." He paused, Noin dared not make a noise. "I sneaked my way back. Oh! Should I do this? Or should I just go away, leaving my parents behind? There was blood everywhere, on the walls, on the floor. I ran and ran, from room to room to find my parents. At last, I found my father. Someone was pointing a gun to his head. He asked my father something angrily, but my father refused to answer. He then kicked my father. I was shocked, I was so shocked that I couldn't move. The man did this several times. Until my father didn't stand up anymore, the man sent a bullet into my father's head." He plainly said the whole thing, just like telling other people's story. He continued, "Suddenly, someone gently tapped my shoulder, it was my mother. She gently pulled me to another place. Her graceful face was wetted with tears, but she did not made a sound. Then…then," He began to sob. "I heard gun shots and we kept running. I didn't remember how many corridors I ran through. At last, my mother pushed me into a really large box which stored my sister's clothes previously. I hid there, in endless darkness. Everything was silent, I waited and waited. No sound was heard. I slept… and I woke up. I crept out. I saw strangers in my house and they…said that my mother was…dead." He stopped, Noin stretched her hands out to reach him. She felt him and moved to sit closer to him. She wanted him to feel his presence. They sat there for half an hour without speaking. Suddenly, the familiar calm voice was heard again, "From that day onward, I was Zechs Marquise, the little boy called Milliando Peacecraft has gone forever. The only thing I have to do now is revenge. You're right, Noin, I am not wearing my mask. It is the one that you know as a friend talk to you. The another one will come out and take over this one tomorrow." "So, you mean I'm talking to Milliando Peacecraft, not Zechs Marquise? Zechs, remember, no matter who you're. I am still your friend. I will be a friend of both Milliando Peacecraft and Zechs Marquise." Noin said gently. "Do you understand, Noin? Do you know who I actually am?" Zechs asked nervously. "Peacecraft… the surname of the royal family of the Sanc Kingdom. You're the prince, the heir of the throne, then." "Do you mean you'll support me for whatever I do?" Zechs asked. "Only when you're doing the right thing, the thing that you think is right in the depth of your heart." She heard Zechs walked across the room, the curtains were drawn again. She could clearly saw her friend wearing the mask and the smile he wore. She simply said good night to her friend and went away. She found Hercules in the sky. She prayed, "Please, please, keep him safe. Make my wish come true one day."

Although Noin did not know what was going on, she still trusted Zechs. After her graduation, Zechs went to the battlefield to fight for honour. 'Lightning Baron' became a legend and the hero of the battlefield. Meanwhile, Noin continued to train herself and her students to fight. She was satisfied with her life there. She was very busy and did not even have time to think of her mother. However, she found herself missing Zechs. The passion was so strong that from time to time, she wanted to see him or to search for his news. Being inexperienced in life, she thought she fell in love with Zechs. "No, it can't be," she thought, "How can I tell him? He needs to fulfill his responsibilities and I don't want to bother him." So she suppressed the passion and remained loyal to him. She did everything to help him, protecting his sister, Relena and help him out in many ways. But for once and only once, she did not help him.

In the Eve War, Zechs and Noin belonged to different parties. Noin did not understand why, but she held an opposite idea with Zechs. Zechs seemed to fulfill his promise: another one will come out and take over this one tomorrow. She wanted to ask him directly and personally. At last, chances came. She found that Zechs changed into a different person. Before then, she believed that Zechs Marquise and Milliando Peacecraft were the same person, but from that moment, she puzzled. Could she still remain loyal to him? No, he was doing the wrong thing and she had to stop him. That was what she exactly wanted to do when she placed herself between Peacemillion and Epyon. But she couldn't fire at Zechs; she couldn't fire at her best friend. No, never, she couldn't stop him, she cursed herself for being so indecisive. So, she changed her mind, she was willing to exchange the real self of Zechs with her life. She really wanted to know what identity Zechs took. She closed her eyes as she prepared to be slain by Zechs. She found that he did not kill her, she had narrowly escaped the strike and at last, she clearly understood what Zechs was thinking at that time. After she stayed with Zechs, fulfilling her promise until the final battle came.

She witnessed the whole progress of the fighting between Zechs and Heero and also the explosion. Although she understood what Zechs was thinking at that moment, she really wanted to stop the fight. But, she couldn't because she knew how important the battle was to Zechs. It was Zechs who wanted and treasured the battle, and she respected his will. After the war ended, she repeatedly told herself and the others that she could not see clearly during the explosion and it would be possible for Zechs to escape without notice. However, after the two-month search in the space and the colonies, Zechs was still not found. He was declared dead.


	10. Home Again

Home Again

Home Again 

"What do I have to do now?" Noin asked herself. She was on the way back to the to-be headquarter of the Preventers. She has just visited Relena, the only relative of Zechs. "She was a strong girl," thought Noin. "much stronger than she was when she was fourteen." Relena accepted her brother's death, although Noin denied it and also she kept on working to achieve peace. Noin got off the bus and went straight into the changing room. She opened her locker and took the new uniform our and planned to wear it. A card-like thing dropped on the floor. She picked it up and looked at it carefully. It was her family photo, with her papa, mama and her. Her mother seemed smiling at her. How warm her smile was! How gentle she was! Suddenly, she knew what she had to do. She went to Lady Une's office and asked for a holiday. Actually, Lady wanted to give her a holiday, too. Noin had never had a holiday since she was graduated from the Academy and she had already worked days and nights after the Eve War. She thought Noin needed a rest and maybe some time to think. She gave a two-week holiday and sincerely wished her to have a good time. 

Noin was at the same place again. She had to decide whether she needed to take a bus or walk all the way home. This time, she chose to take a bus, she was eager to go home again and see her mother. The bus journey still needed two hours. When she was in the bus, many things came across her mind. She remembered and she would always remember the route she was taking at that moment. Her father left home through that route; she fled from her home through that route and then she returned again. She observed her reflection on the window: she became more mature through those years although her appearance didn't change much. She gained so many experiences and made many friends. "Zechs…where are you?" she suddenly thought. She bitterly smiled, when her father left her, she went back to her mother to seek support; and then when Zechs left her alone, she went to her mother again. "It's not fair," she thought. "why do I make her worried each time when I am alone?" Her thoughts turned to her mother. Was she happy? Was she taken care of? Did she have another child? Her mother was quite young when Noin left. It was possible that Noin had a brother or a sister. She looked at the sky, if she really had a younger brother or sister, she would teach them to recognize the stars in the sky. She would protect him or her from any harm, just like Zechs protecting Relena. "Oh! Why did I always think of him?" Noin whispered. The bus traveled slowly, Noin was so tired and she fell asleep. 

She nervously walked down to her home, a house, which she left at midnight with her most valuable memories behind. She prepared for anything to happen: she would be scolded heavily by her mother, or even cast out by her. She gently knocked the door. Someone answered the door; it was her mother. She looked pale when she saw Noin standing at the door. Then, she burst into tears. Noin only said a word, "Mama!" she gave her mother a warm and big hug. She was, at last, home again, after years of training and fighting. She was still her beloved daughter. Her mother cried softly and whispered, "Oh, Lucrezia dear, my dearest!" repeatedly. Noin's eyes were moistened with tears but she did not cry. She just said, "I am sorry, mama, for what I've done. I'm back." They stood there for a very long time. After that, her mother took her hand and invited her in. Nothing was changed during those years; the dining table, the sofa, the fireplace and even the smell of the house were still the same. Noin felt the warmth that the place brought her immediately. Her father's notes were still on the shelf and she saw her father's photo above the fireplace. Her heart stirred. "Do you like to have some tea?" her mother gently asked. "Mama, sit down. I'll go and get something to eat." Noin smiled. As they were having tea, Noin looked around again and asked for Uncle Guidarini. Her mother's face darkened, and did not say a word. Noin waited and waited and at last, she said, "I'm sorry, mama. I didn't mean to be naughty when I ran away. I love uncle as much as you do. I sincerely hope that you two will have a happy life together, even I have to go away again to make you two happy." She looked at her mother directly; she wanted her to understand. Suddenly, her mother cried again, "Do you mean you have to leave me soon? I know you hate me…" Noin was really nervous, there were some misunderstandings between her mother and her. "I just want to apologize to uncle. I was so naughty…" Her mother sobbed, "He's gone, he's gone forever." Noin couldn't believe her ears; her uncle has gone, leaving her mother alone. She tried to her best to sooth her mother and later she knew that her uncle had died three months ago in an accident. She tried to say something good but she did not listen. Both of them did not say a word for a whole afternoon. Noin started to prepare their dinner in the evening, to her surprise, there was nearly no food at home. As she cooked, she wondered what things had happened when she was not at home. She had only two weeks' time to find out. Originally, she wanted to take a rest at home, let her mind settle a little bit, but her home went to a chaotic situation. What had happened?

When they were having dinner, Noin couldn't help noticing that her mother ate much less than she did in former years. "Mama, are you OK?" Noin asked tenderly and with concern. Her mother raised her long, dark eyebrows and looked at Noin. She could clearly see the pain and guilt lying deep inside her daughter's eyes. "Nothing." She answered. She smiled bitterly, her lips moved but she stopped immediately. She hoped Noin did not notice this. She then stood up and went into the kitchen. She pulled the wardrobe out. Noin stood near the kitchen door and saw all these. She saw her mother taking a bottle of pills out of the wardrobe and took two of those pills. "Why? Was mama sick?" she thought. She volunteered to wash the dishes, so that she could have a look at the pills. They were some strong painkillers. She memorized the name of the hospital and the doctor written on the bottle and determined to make the whole thing clear.

Next morning, she told her mother she had something to do in the city, so she left early in the morning. She went to the hospital straightly and found the doctor. She knocked the door. "Come in, please." The doctor answered. The doctor immediately noticed a young stranger was stepping in. "Can I help?" the doctor asked politely. Noin came to the doctor's desk and gave the name of her mother. "I'm her daughter, and I've left home some years ago. I saw her taking in these pills," showing the doctor the pills. "Can you tell me what happened to my mother?" The doctor quickly searched for her mother's file. He read the file carefully and asked, "How was your mother when you left home?" "What do you mean?" Noin could only guess what would come next. "I am sorry to say that your mother has got cancer." The doctor said solemnly and paused to let her think for a while. "She may live for another year." Noin was just able to stare at the desk without saying a word.

She went home with a heavy heart, she felt very guilty. "I should not leave home for such a long time." She thought. Although she did send letters to her mother, her mother could never reach her. She did not even know that she was a soldier. She would never tell her mother this. As she traveled back home, she quickly figured out what she had to do. The days that she could share with her mother were few. She had to treasure them and try her best to cheer her up. She thought of the days when her father just left them, how immature she was. This time, she would behave better. She was a stronger person then. The idea of being a preventer flashed back, she needed to traveled a lot as a preventer, so she would have little time with her mother. Did she have any choices? She thought of Zechs again, she knew Zechs wanted her to stay by Miss Relena's side, helping her out and protecting her. She pushed herself to make up her mind, everything had to be settled before the holiday ended. When she arrived home, her mother was taking an afternoon nap. She phoned Miss Relena, asking whether she was fine or not. And, with some hesitations, she asked her whether she could work alone, or whether Noin could help her anything. She could feel the surprise in the tone of Relena, but she seemed to understand and asked her to make a decision according to her own will. 

Noin was relieved. She then phoned to Lady Une. "Lady Une," Noin began. "I would like to resign my post as a preventer. I will send you my resignation letter tomorrow." "Noin," Lady Une was really surprised. "Why did you make this decision so suddenly? I am sure you still have other choices." "I'm sorry," Noin answered calmly. "I know it is quite sudden for me to ask for resignation. But apparently, I have no choices." Lady Une wanted to know about the whole story. "Noin, all of us were sad about the death of Zechs. But we'll live through this…" Noin interrupted rudely, "Lady Une, there is one thing I want to clarify. I don't think Zechs is dead." She stopped abruptly, realizing her tone was too harsh. "Trust me, Zechs will come back one day. And, he is not the reason for me to resign my post…it was my mother." "Your mother?" Lady Une was really surprised as if asking whether Noin had a living mother. "Yes, you can find her in my personal profile." Noin answered softly, so her mother did not hear this. "My mother was very sick and I think it's better for me to stay with her." She paused for awhile to think what she could say. "Maybe, I can still help you as a friend, not a preventer." The conversation continued. At last, Lady Une agreed that Noin could resign from her post but her code name would be retained. Noin could come back at anytime with two years as she wished. Noin promised to help her if she could.

"Did I really love Zechs?" she asked herself, looking out of the window. Soft breezes passed her as she thought this question over and over again. She was really confused, if she loved Zechs, she should feel sad at that time. However, she did not feel sad at all. Sometimes, she missed him deeply, but she also felt relieved when no one found him. "This is the only way he can start a new life." She told herself. "He can have a new identity, start his life again and make some new friends. He will forget all his nightmares. Maybe…some years later, he will come back and meet his old friends with a care-free soul." She smiled at this thought. She saw Hercules again, "Thanks, Hercules, for making half of my wish comes true." She whispered. It was strange for Zechs and Noin, although they were the best friends of each other. They never took a picture together and sent each other presents. They just learned and fought together with each other for years, so the only souvenir was the memories of the days in the Academy. It was lucky that Zechs never knew that Noin _loved_ him. Otherwise, Zechs would probably laugh even though Zechs never laughed. It would be the funniest joke ever for Zechs. Breezes lightly touched the skin of Noin, "We're the best friends, as ever." Her mind was as clear as crystals. She could put all her effort and attention to her mother.


	11. Life in the Alps

Life in the Alps

Life in the Alps 

That night, her mother ached all over. She was twisted in pain and broke a few glasses. Although she refused to let Noin in, Noin broke the door open. She found her mother was pale and sweating all over. She quickly fetched the pills and called for an ambulance.

After the diagnosis, the doctor said nothing. When Noin asked him, he simply said the condition of her mother was getting worse. The cancer cells have already spread to other parts of the body and there was no way to cure. Noin thanked the doctor and went straightly to the ward. Her mother was lying in a bed. Here eyes were swollen and red. "Do you feel better, mama?" Noin asked gently by the side of her mother. Her mother stared at her without answering. She was breathing hard and moved her lips as if she wanted to speak but she bit her lips instead. Noin took a deep breath, determined to be the first one to break the wall between them. "Mama, please forgive me. I was a child, then. I ran away because I didn't know what to do when all the things at home reminded me of papa. I knew that you and uncle got married because of me. I was so weak at that time…I sincerely hoped that uncle and you would live happily together. Yes, this was my wish before I knew uncle was dead. I ran away to train myself in order to be a strong person to love you and support you… Forgive me…forgive your weak and naughty daughter." Noin voice was trembled. She couldn't bring herself to cry, but her mother sobbed wildly, "It's my fault. I saw you wandering near the streams and in the woods. I saw you daydreaming of your father. You looked so sad and lost at that time. I noticed these and so did Guidarini. We had a long discussion. As a good friend to our family, Guidarini agreed to be the godfather of you. He was not sure whether you could receive the shock…" She felt a strong pain. The nurse has injected a higher dose of morphia into her body, but sometimes the medicine did not work. She struggled to continue, "of our marriage. So he suggested that he might live with us, but I thought it was unfair for him to live with us without any obvious reasons. I know, there will be rumours…" She could not continue, "Why did he leave me, like your father?" "Mama, this time, I will not leave. I will stay with you, support you and comfort you."

Two months later, Noin and her mother moved to a small village near the Alps. Her mother wanted to live there because it was the place in which she met Francesco for the first time. She wanted to spend the rest of her days there. Although it was difficult, Noin got all the medical records and reports of her mother to a hospital nearby. She determined to make her mother happy. She found a new job and became a rescue team member. In normal days, she needed to check all the resting places of the skiing area, produce 'artificial avalanche' and help the people in need in the mountains. She made new friends there. They all loved mountains and shared very similar interests with her. The old feelings of living with mountains came back to her. She was content; this was a comfort to her to ease her mind a little. Her mother was happy and getting better. The doctors were more optimistic about her condition. Noin threw herself into the new life she had and tried not to think about her past, although she often failed. The dreams of the past few years brought both happiness and sadness. Sometimes, she really wanted to go back and meet everyone, but she knew she had to pay more attention to her mother.

One day, the team received an emergency call from a resting place about 5000m above sea level. A climbing team was trapped by the glacier and one of the team members was injured. Noin set out with other ten team members, hoping to rescue them before a storm came. They were divided into three groups and searched for the climbing team from 4000m above sea level. They searched for a whole day, but they still could not find the team. The search continued on the other day. The storm was coming and it would develop into a severe storm. Everyone was nervous, especially Noin. She has experienced that kind of situation before and still clearly remembered every scene. She pulled herself up using all her strength, suddenly the rope tightened. She looked down and saw one of her teammate was hanging on the rope. The ice beneath them began to fall due to its great mass. Noin shouted, "Up here, be quick!" She quickly climbed to a platform-like ice block and helped the others to get there. Just then, the whole wall of ice fell like a sheet. Apparently, they were trapped. They quickly reported back to the office. At that very moment, heavy snow began to bounce against them, so they climbed to a sheltered place as fast as possible. They ran into a cave where they met another team. Strong winds were roaring outside and the snow on the ground got thicker and thicker. They tried the communication system again and again, but the strong winds interfered the transmission of the signals. They were completely isolated from the outside world.

One experienced team member, Alfred, who was one of the pilots of the whole team, gathered the people in the cave together. They had a discussion. Noin told the others there was no way to get out at the eastern side since the ice sheet has fallen. Another team member reminded that there should be an 'artificial avalanche' on the next day on the southern slope, so getting out from the southern slope could be dangerous. Alfred finally pointed out that they were probably on the south-eastern slope 4550m above sea level. They then discussed the possible route they could take. The weather was getting worse outside; the snow has already blocked half of their exit. This, at least, provided them a shield against the storming weather outside. They only had three pieces of chocolate with them. Although they were surrounded by ice, they were under the threat of dehydration. They only had about 1 litre of water with them and this had to be shared by six people. The most important thing at hat moment was to get enough rest, so they took shift to get rest and stay on guard. Noin and Alfred were responsible for checking the weather constantly. The sky was so dim and it seemed that the bad weather would continue for several days.

Two days have passed, they were still trapped in the cave. There were no water left and they bean to take in snow. This was not a good way to get water because this would lower the body temperature. Their clothings were still enough to keep them warm. All of them were not allowed to sleep because the temperature was too low. They still tried hard on the communication system, but they still could not contact anyone outside. Noin looked at the sky, the clouds were thinner and began to move in a south-eastern direction. That meant, they were sheltered by the mountain. A gust blew into the cave, Noin shivered. "How's mama?" she thought. "She should go to have her regular check-up today." She looked at her watch for the time. "She should be there now." Noin felt uneasy, she should be there with her mother. Someone was shouting. Who was that? She quickly called the others to listen. "Al…fred!" The voice was fading. It was the voice of one of their colleagues, Victor. He was leaving. "Victor! Here!" everyone shouted. Alfred and Noin immediately blew their whistles. Three seconds later, they heard someone whistling back. They whistled again, so their colleagues could locate them. Finally, they all arrived at their office three hours later. On the way, they knew that all the climbing team members were saved and were sent to the hospital two days ago. Noin's mother was waiting anxiously in the office, she jumped up when she saw Noin back. Noin came to her mother, smiling, "Good afternoon, mama." She said it light-heartedly to ease her mind. "Did you have your check-up?" "No. Lucrezia, you looked tired. Let's go home and get a rest." Her mother observed her carefully and said. "Alfred, can I hand in my report tomorrow morning? I think I have to leave now." Noin said as she took her jacket on. "OK, take your time." Alfred answered, sipping hot chocolate. "Thanks, mama, let's go." They took a taxi. To her mother surprise, they were going to the hospital. Noin said in a naughty way, "I'm not tired, mama. You know, I'm young."

Things went very well in the first and a half year. Noin's mother's condition was stable, the cancer cells were seemed under control. Noin was satisfied with her job, although sometimes she had accidents, like the one mentioned. Her physical fitness got further improved. However, good things never last long. After the first and a half year of well being, the health of Noin's mother turned worse. At first, she found herself having difficulties in breathing, then she had difficulties to move. A thorough check-up was done, and the doctors suggested that she should stay in the hospital. Noin sadly agreed. She did not want her mother to be alone in the hospital, so she asked the rescue team members to reserve the afternoon and night shifts for her. Her friends all understood her and tried her best to help. So, Noin usually spend the daytime or morning in the ward with her mother and nights in the office. It was so painful for her to hear the moan of her mother. Her mother has already been injected with the maximum dose of morphia, but still she was in great pain. Even though Noin tried hard to keep herself smiling and cheer her mother up, she could not do it. Another thins was bothering her.

One day she received a call from Lady Une. A very shocking news came, Lady Une told her that Miss Relena was kidnapped and disappeared. Lady Une called her to take up the duty as a preventer again. "Sorry, Lady Une, I can't." Noin replied. "My mother is now lying in the hospital and struggling for her life. I can't leave her now." Lady Une was disappointed but Noin promised to come back once her mother felt better. The doctors and her friends were trying their best to help Noin and her mother, but in vain, her mother was getting worse and worse. Two months later, the pain finally took her breath and life away peacefully and slowly. 


	12. Operation Meteor

Operation Meteor

Operation Meteor 

Noin resumed her job as a preventer after her mother's death. All her friends were sad, Alfred gave her a pager-like device, so they could keep in contact. Noin buried her mother near stream where her father always wandered about. Then, she immediately went to the headquarter of the Preventers. 

The situation was critical. No one knew where Relena was or who was responsible for the abduction. Noin received a file from Lady Une, indicating the mission she was going to work on. Her code name was Fire. She had to leave for L3 at once. She saluted to Lady Une before she left the room. She has completely changed from the mode of being a rescuer to that of being a soldier. Yes, there was going to be a war again. "Why did people love fighting and wars so much?" she shook her head. No questions again, she was tired and did not want to produce answers for anything. She quickly reported to the Back-up Unit. From there, she got a fake passport, a set of civilian clothes, a gun and some bullets. She did not have time to practise her mobile suit skills. "Well, I hope I still have the chance to practise it in the battlefield." she thought as she got in a shuttle. 

She was waiting; there were still five more minutes. Everything seemed normal in L3. The parents still took their children out to play in the park. There was still a long queen of taxis along the station, including the taxi, which she was in. Five minutes passed, someone was knocking against the window. "It's urgent." a male voice was heard. "Open the door." Noin smiled. "Sir, it's lunch time." She did not open the window, or looked at the man. "I'll pay you triple." The man said. "How about your luggage?" The man laughed and knocked the door again. Noin opened the door. "Hello, Preventer Wind." "Nice to meet you, Preventer Fire." the other said. They both smiled to each other. "So, we have to go, Zechs." Noin said, starting the engine. "It's been two years since I left." said Zechs, who was Preventer Wind. "I was really surprised that you were not a preventer during these two years. What did you do?" Instinctively, Noin thought of her mother, it was just a month after her death. No, she should not think of her now. She changed the subject and concentrated more on their mission. They finished their investigations in L3 a month later. They were really upset when they found that Barton was one step ahead of them. Investigations and negotiations no longer worked. War was again unavoidable. They had to move fast. They did not have any advantages at all, no matter on the time allowed and resources. Zechs volunteered himself to the mission in finding Relena. Although Lady Une did not want Zechs to do it, Noin promised to help him and so they got the permission from Lady Une. They traveled from colony to colony, tracking the way that Relena took. Zechs was nervous as well as tired. He had already tried every method to find her sister, but he still has not got any news about her. He worked days and nights to get information, Noin started to worry about him. She knew he was fit and strong, but she also knew that he would use up all his energy before the war. She had to make Zechs to take a rest, because she knew that Zechs would be very important in the coming war. How can she get him to take a rest?

"Here's the file for Tallgese III." Noin said to Zechs, who happened to take a rest just then. Zechs quickly scanned through the paper. "It's stored in a cargo in Port Number 5 in L1." "Cargo number 5316." Zechs added. "Wind, you can go and get the Tallgese first." Noin said, offering a cup of coffee to him. "How about you?" asked he. He was truly sensitive, beginning to guess what exactly Noin meant. "Fire, the workload for you will be tremendous." "No problem, I think I can follow the case quite well. Besides, I need some time to practise my mobile suit skills." "Fi…Noin, what exactly did you do in these two years?" Zechs asked this question again after they have worked together for nearly a year. Noin prepared to answer, suddenly an emergency call signal was heard. "Wind and Fire." Noin said as she took the headset. It was the report from other preventers that they had tracked some suspicious transportations of some sort being performed between L1 and resources satellite. After a brief discussion, Zechs set out for Tallgese III and at the same time, investigated on the transportation. Noin would stay there to do all the back-up and follow-up job. "See you on the Earth, Fire." Zechs said as he left. The door closed, she switched on the computer again, she skimmed through the data files and set up the schedule for herself. She worked alone in the Camp in K2. She closed her eyes to take a rest. Every single piece of information implied that this war was going to be a big one; a lot of people were going to pay the price. There were already some regional conflicts on Earth, induced by the some 'power-thirty' people. Civilians never wanted wars. Noin sighed, it was time to work. Preventer Wind would arrive in L1 in a few days; she needed to prepare the file and other information for him. Also she had to send a report to Lady Une to keep her informed.Just then, a call came, "It's Water calling." a female voice said. "It's Fire." answered Noin. "Can I talk to Wind for a moment?" the female preventer, who was Sally Po, asked. "Wind has gone already." Noin replied. "Then, Fire, here's a new piece of information. We have already found out what Barton ordered to transport. They are mobile dolls. They were packed inside twenty cargoes." Preventer Water finished her report. "So, you mean there will be no soldiers in the opposite side?" Noin had to make sure of that, too. "We're not pretty sure. But I'd say there should be soldiers there too. I'll try to find out some more information about that. Besides, I've got one more thing to tell you. Go to Port number 4 in L2 and get your White Taurus."

"Where are you, Zechs?" she asked again and again. Originally, she expected Zechs to be earlier than her to arrive, but she had already waited for two days. She was deeply worried. "Did something happen on him?" She searched for Hercules, the warrior in the sky among the stars, "Bless him, keep him safe." she whispered. It was midnight, she could clearly hear the sounds of some insects in the wood she was hiding. She was tired and worried. She found a way to keep her spirit up. She cursed Zechs playfully, "Zechs, why are you so late? You snail, you turtle, you 486 ancient computer…" "Don't say something so harsh," a familiar voice was heard. "Noin, you jay!" Zechs emphasized on the last two words. They both had a small laugh, just like in the days in the Academy. They continued to talk in the old, friendly manner. This talk did not last long. After three or four minutes, siren was heard everywhere. "Action, Fire!" Preventer Wind said as he ran for his Tallgese. For the next three days, they have not slept for a single minute. They were fighting fierce for days and nights, side by side with each other.

Noin has just finished the checking of her White Taurus. The repairing work has finished and it would be transported back to the base. Noin stretched her muscles as she walked. These were long days for her. It was the fourth day after the war ended. Although she was busy, she still managed to get enough sleep. This helped her to regain her energy. "Noin," someone was calling her from behind. "It's good to see you here." "Zechs, you looked tired!" she said, examining her friend at the same time. "Yes, you know…" Zechs began to explain when he was rudely interrupted by a young man in uniform running, "Preventer Fire, please go and see the President at once." Noin answered the young man and almost immediately went away without noticing the disappointment shown on Zechs' face. On her way, Noin shook her head, "It would be much better few days later." she thought. She wanted to have a good talk with Zechs. After the meeting, she went to the same place to find Zechs but he was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, she remembered that she still had something to do, so she quickly went to her desk and finished it.

It was already nine o'clock in the evening. Noin was finally free from her work. She has finished the last piece of her job and she went to her locker merrily preparing to change her uniform. She has not opened her locker for more than one year. There were two sets of clothes, some money, a toilet set and the pager device inside. Due to curiosity, she switched on the pager device and saw an urgent message there. It was a message from Alfred and was sent out just two days ago. "What happened?" she quickly searched for the information. It was just a short message: Noin, lots of people trapped. Rescuers needed. At the end of the message, there was a telephone number. Noin found a phone and made the call, she frowned when she heard the news. Although she has just recovered her strength, she promised to help. She went to see Lady Une and asked for the permission to leave for about two weeks. Lady Une was not pleased with the idea. She told Lady Une that it was an emergency situation and finally she agreed. After Noin booked the air ticket, she went to find Zechs, but he was having a meeting. The others were nowhere to be found too. So Noin left without even saying goodbye to anyone.


	13. The Andes

The Andes

The Andes 

It was not a pleasant surprise for everyone to find out that Noin had left. "Where is she?" Sally asked a young officer. "I don't know." the young officer replied. "But she seemed to leave in a hurry." "She left without saying goodbye to us!" Duo yelled, he was really bored and at last he found a good reason for him to yell. "Noin probably told Lady Une where she will go." Zechs said. Later they knew that Noin went to San Juan in South America. They did not know why she was going there, but it was sure that she was needed there urgently. The four pilots were going back home, with Wufei missing after the war almost immediately. Since many bases for space shuttle were damaged or destroyed in the war, the only base they could go was a military base on an artificial island, I22, two thousand kilometres away west from South American coast. Sally Po had something to do on that island, Zechs and Relena wanted to go with them, so seven people were heading for I22. They took a light carrier plane with some cargoes inside. 

The plane was about to fly across the Andes. As the pilot prepared to rise the plane to a new height, he received a message. He frowned and answered, "This is not a civilian plane. Roger." After awhile, he said, "I understand, but we can't agree with this." Three minutes later, he said, "OK! But don't expect too much." The pilot then asked another pilot to control the plane and went to the cabin. "We received a call for help from the ground." The pilot paused to wait for everyone's attention. "The man over the system said there were about six hundred refugees in a camp and about one hundred of them need to be sent to the hospital and also…" Zechs asked sharply, "So they want to use this carrier?" The pilot hesitated and answered. "Yes." "How many people can this plane carry?" Relena asked. Towa said, About one hundred to one hundred and ten people, since all the things have been loaded down already." "Relena, it's not safe." Zechs plainly suggested. Sally ordered, "Pilot, ask for a more detailed information." So the pilot came back with the details: The local conflicts have destroyed the homes of the civilians. About ten thousand civilians were driven to the Andes for shelter as refugees. They scattered around in different places and were isolated form the outside world. Since the weather turned worse suddenly and it was expected to have stormy weathers for days. A group of rescuers hoped to help all the refugees to get down the mountains, only to find that many of them were sick and injured. There were about six hundred people found at that time, but they expected to find about two thousand people at that site. Due to the limitations of the resources, they could not afford to have planes to take those people away, so they asked for help from the plane passed by. "We have to help them." Relena said and the others agree. 

The plane landed on an open area. When they got off the plane, they immediately asked the rescuers to ask the local government to help. The person-in-charge smiled bitterly, "Miss Relena, the local government is not working." They looked out, the weather became colder and colder and there were so many people out there. "How many people are still in the mountains?" Quatre asked. "About one thousand and five hundred people." Although the person-in-charge did not want them to help, after a brief discussion, Zechs would be responsible for asking for Preventers' help; Sally, Quatre and Relena would help to take care of the patients; Heero, Trowa and Duo would go up to the mountains to help. "Thanks, everybody. We haven't expected to have you on the plane and to help us." The rescuer thanked them from his heart. At first, they all found the job difficult, all the apparatus there were rather old-fashioned. Sally found that there were not enough doctors and medicine. For the people in the mountain, they found the place was too large to search and they did not really used to hike in the wild. For Zechs, it was difficult to organize planes and coaches to come and help them, since everyone was busy at their own business. 

Quatre stamped on the snow heavily. It was his third time to walk on the snow but it was the longest time he spent on snow. A little girl told him that her doll was left somewhere on the slope. Quatre promised to help her to find it. He looked carefully everywhere. The ground was white since it was covered with snow, and it was hard to find a doll with naked eyes. As he walked, he found a pale blue thing lying near a bark. He was glad to find it at last and went there to pick the doll up. Since he had little experience on walking on snowy ground, he took a wrong step and fell down. He lost his balance and rolled down slope. After two to three metres of rolling, he finally stopped and knocked unconscious by a tree. It would be fatal for him if he laid there for too long. Luckily, a rescuer happened to pass by. "Why are you here, Quatre?" the rescuer asked. She quickly carried him down to the medical centre.

It was the third day for them to Sally, Zechs, Relena and the four pilots to stay in the camp. The evacuation process was going well. They have found one thousand nine hundred and fifty seven people. Some of them were healthy, but many of them were either sick or injured. There were carrier planes and coaches to transport them away. Everything seemed fine and finally everybody could take a rest. It was a relief that they successfully evacuated all refugees before the severe storm developed. A rescuer named Alfred and a doctor called Dora were with them. They have packed all the things and after that, Alfred said, "Let's go before it's too late." Dora looked sad. "What's the matter?" Quatre asked. Dora sighed and took her bag, walking towards the last plane. "Is someone missing?" Trowa asked with looking at anyone. Alfred finally said, "There were five team members missing. But we have to leave now. It's dangerous for you to stay here." "How dangerous is it?" Heero calmly asked, checking the weather at the same time. "We'll run into trouble if we don't leave now." Alfred carefully answered. Duo looked at everyone, "We always run into trouble. How about you?"

Noin shook the man lying on the ground. "Sir, are you OK?" No answer. "Sir," she slapped him. "Wake up!" she quickly examined the body. The breathing was weak and there was still pulses felt. The man was annoyed when he found that he was being examined by a stranger. "Get up! Sir." Noin helped him to sit up. "The storm is coming. Come with me!" She helped him to get down the slope. Suddenly the earth shook, the land collapsed above them one hundred metres away. The man screamed, "Avalanche! Avalanche!" He tried to escape, but in a wrong direction. "Come here!" Noin tried to grasp him. But he was too panic and struggled to free himself. It was too late the wave of snow swept past them. Noin found herself rolling down slope alone. She quickly got to her feet when the situation was more stable. No one was near her. She whistled hard, but there was no answer. She looked for the time, it has passed the meeting time. Her team members have probably gone. "I'll find a sheltered place and wait for the help." The wind was blowing harder and harder, and the snow fell as heavy rain. Noin couldn't open her eyes, she tried to walk faster but her legs were sore and limp. She was tired and hungry and she had no food and water with her. As she walked, she noticed something red moving. "What's that?" she was glad that there was some stimulations for her. She jogged there and blew her whistle. She heard a weak whistle. Overwhelmed, she ran to the red thing. "Victor!" she cried, hoping to get his attention. Victor turned his head to look up, he smiled. Noin was surprised when she saw his face although she did not show it: some of it was covered with blood; his eyes were deep and nearly without focus; his face was pale and the lips were dark. "Victor, is everything all right?" she carefully examined him and blocked the wind which blew against him. "It's not good." Noin thought. "He seems to have some damages on his ribs and he had broken legs. I can't move him." Noin smiled and said, "It's OK, Victor. You're fine. I'll carry you to a sheltered place first." With some difficulties, she lifted him up on her back and began to walk to the nearest shelter. The snow was so soft that she hardly kept her balance. "He's much heavier than Zechs. No, concentrate." she demanded herself, dismissed the thought of her best friend. 

"I've never experienced this kind of storm." said Duo, looking out from the frozen window. The snow has splashed on the windows for six hours already and there was no sign of fine weather. Room temperature has dropped further, it was a comfort that they still had enough clothes and food. Alfred constantly checked the wind speed and the communication system, hoping his teammates would call back. "Do you think they are safe?" Sally asked. "I don't know. We know nothing about them." Alfred sadly answered. Suddenly, everyone was silent and stared at the surrounding. The hut was shaking. Alfred quickly checked the maps. "Pack your things, we have to act fast." Alfred urged them. They quickly got out of the hut. "Stay close together." he shouted. It was really amazing that they felt they were blown up by the wind. Everyone had to fight against the roaring wind. The roof of the hut was torn out. Finally they managed to get on a plane. Their destination was another house 5km away.

Noin took a half-day _rest under a shelter in the mountain with Victor. Actually she was busy all time. She went out to pick some dry barks, hoping to start a fire. Since the temperature was too low and the wind was too strong, no matter how hard she tried, she still could not set up a small fire. Besides, she had to repair the shelter all the time, which was a roof originally, and took care of Victor. None of these were successful. The worse thing was that Victor began to cough blood out. "I'll carry you down." Noin told Victor, knowing he needed immediate medical attention. Although Victor disagreed, he was being lifted up by Noin again._

This was a long, long journey. Noin was carrying a man who was much heavier and taller than her, walking with difficulties down slope. She had to be careful, not to injure him further. Her legs were burning, luckily she still had a clear mind. She took the fastest route back to the camp, hoping to use communication system there to ask for help. This would take her about ten hours from their shelter to the camp in normal days. But then in the stormy weather, this would take about twenty to thirty hours. She put the map in one pocket, the whistle back around her neck and reduced the amount of stuff she had to carry. She checked the clothing and condition of Victor for the final time. "You'll be fine." This was a long journey for Noin, demanding highly both mentally and physically. She kept demanding herself to concentrate on the route and stay awake. She felt as if there was vinegar flowing inside her legs. She tried to do the walking rhythmically, so as to make it more comfortable for her and Victor, and also save some energy. She tried to talk to Victor as much as possible and not lower him down because she knew that it would bring him pain if she did it often. At first, Victor answered her shortly after she asked him questions, but after fifteen hours he responded much slower and sometimes he even fell unconscious. She chose to walk at night in order to get there faster. The winds seemed opposing her idea, they howled and slapped her as hard as they could at night. Noin was in an open area, the only thing she could do was to keep walking. The night passed like a bad dream. At noon they finally reached the hut.

No hut was waiting for them. That thing was a ruin. Noin fell to her knees. For the last thirty hours, the hut symbolized hope for her. She regained her reasons, demanding herself to be calm again and searched for the communication system. It was broken in the storm. Noin made Victor lay comfortably on the ground, she tried to repair the machine. "Noin," Victor's voice was barely audible. "there was another…hut five kilometres east from here…Leave me…go…help" Noin looked at him, blood quietly made its way from his mouth. His lips were as pale as his face and his breath was shallow. How about Noin? She had a mild headache and sore legs. She began to feel the pain in her knees and ankles and her muscles were stiffened. She would not have the energy to go back and get him to there again nor Victor could stay alive in the storm alone and took care of himself. She has made up her mind. Once again, she lifted up Victor on her back and walked, heading towards the house far away. 

They have been in the new place for a day. They had nothing to do except waiting for a good weather. Still, the winds roared as if they had to fill every silent part of the environment. The winds slapped the door heavily. Alfred seemed to listen to the sound very carefully. Suddenly, he asked, "Doc, where's the first aid kit?" Before anyone could respond, he shouted, "Whoever you're, step back!" Then he swung the door open, there were two people in rescuer's clothes standing, one was carrying the other. Both were masked. "Come in." Alfred helped them to get in. Before he knew what he was saying, Zechs asked, "Noin?" Then they heard, "Victor, broken legs, maybe broken ribs with internal bleeding." A familiar female voice came out from the rescuer who was lowering down her companion. "When did he became unconscious?" Dr. Dora asked as she examined Victor. "About… two, no three hours ago." Alfred quickly helped Noin to take her stuff away as Sally helped Dora to take care of Victor. Victor was sent to an inner room. It was the first time Noin had taken a real look at the surroundings. "Why are you here?" she asked, looking at Zechs, then her eyes slowly searched for another person, "Quatre, you look well." "Well done, Noin. Have a hot chocolate." Alfred said warmly. Noin reached out her hand, but the image blurred. Things got darker and darker. Alfred shouted, "Look at me, Noin! Look at me!" She tried but failed. She collapsed and became unconscious. Zechs jumped up to help, loosening the coat while Alfred was checking her pulse. "Doc, I can't feel her pulses." The door of the inner room was swung open. Sally and Dora quickly took Noin in. Zechs was nervous, he has never seen Noin like that. As she came into the house, he recognized his best friend's eyes immediately, they were flashing like stars in the sky. Suddenly, she became unconscious. "How is she?" he thought. He sat near the door, hoping to get some more information. He twisted and played with his fingers nervously. "Milliando," Relena said softly in front of him and looked at him tenderly. "she'll be all right." "Yes, she will." Zechs answered. "She'll be all right. She always will." he thought. So he was less nervous. The door was opened again. "Alfred, can we reach the hospital in two days' time?" Dora asked. "How's she?" Zechs asked. "She's fine, but she may have a broken leg." the doctor patiently answered. Zechs prepared to go into the room, "Can I come in?" Dora politely refused, saying that others might bring germs into the room. They might suffer from pneumonia since the two were so weak.

Finally, the weather got better after forty hours and they rushed to get Noin and Victor into the hospital. The others were sent to have medical check-ups too, despite their health conditions were good. Next morning, Zechs visited Noin, but she was still sleeping. The doctor has injected some medicines into her body to let her rest more. There were cracks on her leg bones caused by the extreme fatigue; the other parts of her body were all right. Although she was very tired, she looked healthy. Her breathing was rhythmic and her face was not pale anymore. Zechs found himself observing her face. When he was a cadet, he heard that Noin was a beautiful girl, he never paid attention to that comment. Noin's beauty came from the power and gentleness expressed on her face. Nurses came and Zechs had to go.

They were invited to a party a few days later. It was a party for everyone. They all went to the party. It was really different from the parties they had before. It was just a party with a boon fire and loads of food and drinks. No one was in his or her best clothes and no formalities were found there. When they arrived, they saw Noin there. She was hanging around with a group of rescuers. Besides her, there was a man with dark hair like her and also with slightly brown skin like her. He was just a little bit taller and stronger than she was and with a strong jaw. He was holding Noin's arm. When Noin saw them, she and that man walked towards them. "Noin, you've recovered so quickly." Sally exclaimed, she was really glad to see Noin there. "We've asked the permission from the doctor." said Noin, looking at the man beside her. "This is Mario, he was like a brother to me when I was a child. He was also one of the mountaineers here." said Noin, introducing her companion. Mario was surprised when he heard Zechs' name. "Zechs? Six?" he asked. Someone played the accordion and everyone got up to dance. It was a traditional folk dance from Northern Europe. Noin laughed and invited Zechs to join. At first, Zechs could not dance, but little by little, he remembered. They spent a happy night together. They both smiled a lot.


	14. Mars and Venus

Mars and Venus

Mars and Venus 

When Zechs was walking to Lady Une's office, he thought of the conversation again: _"Noin, will you be a mountaineer or a preventer?" Zechs asked when Noin prepared to leave the hospital. Noin said without hesitation, "Of course, I'll be a preventer." in her straightforward way. Zechs smiled, she was a preventer again. __"Shall I call you Zechs or Milliando?" Noin asked as they left the hospital. She noticed his eyes were darkened. "Zechs, call me Zechs." he said dryly. "I'll be Zechs until I repay my sins." he thought. As he arrived, he found Noin was waiting outside. They went into the office together. There would be a new project in Mars, the "Terracing Project" and Lady Une wanted them to be in charge of it. They agreed and began to study the whole project._

As they were studying the map, Zechs said light-heartedly, "Will you climb Mt. Olympus?" Noin smiled. They were really glad that they were partners for they knew they were the best partners for each other. At first, Zechs was not sure whether Noin should go with him, because that would be a hard job. But Noin insisted that she would go, so they went to Mars together. Noin looked at Zechs, she knew that would be a hard job and she was the most suitable person to help him. Also, she noticed his expression when he told her to call him Zechs. He was still haunted by his past. As his friend, she had to help him. As they arrived at Mars, they looked at the desert and the red soil from their helmets. "It's beautiful." Exclaimed Noin. "This is the place we are staying and working on."

It was a difficult project. They had few resources and not everyone was willing to help. They had to go and meet different people and negotiated with them. Most of the time, Preventer Wind would be responsible for all the negotiations and meetings, while Preventer Fire would be responsible for monitoring the process and materials. Their cooperation was so great that apart from running the project smoothly, they made everyone feel comfortable when they were working with them in the project. They both had to travel a lot, usually Preventer Wind toured around different colonies and Earth to ask for some experts to come and help and asked for funding and sponsorship from the Preventers and other organizations. Years of training in politics and manners helped him a lot. Sometimes, he even found he was a good diplomat. As for Noin, she was the head of all workshops and she had to monitor the process, writing reports, evaluations and sometimes proposals. Initially, she was not accustomed to those things, later as she learned from experiences, she became better and better. Lady Une was pleased with their work.

Due to the heavy workloads, they did not have holidays. They were workers working in shifts for twenty four hours and so they often worked days and nights. But sometimes, they could find some time to talk to each other, like in the old days in the Academy. Usually Noin would talk more because Zechs thought he had enough talking during working hours. Although he talked more than before, he found himself unable to express his feelings. So he treasured the time talking with Noin, telling her about all his dreams at night, the things he encountered and many other things, Noin was a good listener. Sometimes she would commend on the things but most of the time, she just showed encouraging smiles and let him talk. Noin felt sorry when she heard that Zechs still had nightmares of his bloody past: the murder of his parents and the killings in the battlefield. Sometimes, she felt helpless because she could not help him. 

By the end of the second year, a new assistant came. Her name was Matilda. She was a charming girl who was two years younger than them. She has blonde hair and a pair of green eyes and was very good looking. She has two years of experiences working on Earth as a trainee and her performances there were excellent. Lady Une sent her there hoping that she could help Wind and Fire by sharing some paper work. She was really smart, three days after her arrival, she could already take up her duties and work efficiently. Both Wind and Fire were satisfied with her performances. Also, her outgoing character also brought some joy and fun to them when they were working. She really helped them a lot. Two months later, an unexpected thing happened. One of the sponsoring corporations refused to participate in the project anymore. That would cost a lot to the project. So Wind and Matilda immediately set out to have meeting with the company.

After a month of negotiations, the issue has finally settled down. They came back, bring good news to everyone. That night, Noin heard someone knocking her door. It was Matilda. She lived in the same block with her. "Do you mind talking with me for a moment?" She asked timidly. "Of course, come in." Noin said with a welcoming smile. Matilda sat down and asked quite nervously, "Do you mind answering me a few questions about Preventer Wind? I've heard that you were the best friend of each other." Noin was surprised. "Is he serious person?" she asked. "I'd say he's a serious person when he's working but a good companion in leisure times." Noin answered smilingly. They continued to talk about him for an hour. Matilda was interested in his personality and little things, Noin answered her as best as she could, but sometimes could not help thinking they were gossiping about Zechs, which was not a good thing to do. "He's such a gentleman and so agreeable." this was Matilda's last comment on Wind. Noin's simply said, "I know him long enough to know this." Matilda blushed a little before asking the last question, "Does he have a girl friend?" she even dared not look directly at Noin. Noin thought for a while, Zechs seemed so occupied by his duties. "No, I don't think so." Noin smiled and said. "Thanks very much." Matilda was really satisfied with the answer. 

Noin nearly forgot the conversation since there were tons of things for her to do the next day. The project was going well and maybe it could be finished by the end of the third year. "I think I may take a rest at that time." she thought. She still kept contact with the mountaineers and one day, she received an email form them. She replied it immediately. A week later, another email came, she was so glad at the news and searched for the information in the computer. "Noin, it's already nine o'clock." said Zechs, leaning against the door. "Take a rest." "Oh, it's just some personal business." Noin replied. "Then you don't have time to have a drink with me." Zechs said. "Yes, shy not." Noin said as she shut off the computer. They went to Zechs' apartment. "What do you think about Matilda?" Zechs raised this question suddenly in the midst of their conversation. Noin raised her eyebrows as she sipped in the hot tea. "What do you think about her?" he asked again. "Smart, amiable, loving, hardworking." Noin threw out her thoughts freely. "She's definitely amiable." Zechs said with a smile. "And she's certainly smart." Noin added. She saw Zechs looking at her strangely. "Do you have something else to ask me?" Zechs did not answer. Noin thought for a while, then she laughed, "Zechs, she's not a spy, I'm sure. She'll bring you happiness, be nice to her." Noin stayed for fifteen minutes more and left.

Everything in the project ran smoothly. All people were happy about this. Wind and Fire found that they had more leisure time at last. They were sure that the project could be finished by the end of the third year. Everyone was pleased with the progress. It would be possible for human to have more facilities on Mars then. The future was very promising. It was late at night about ten o'clock. Noin went to the greenhouse to have a walk. Usually, nobody would be there and she could enjoy a quiet long walk there. She looked at the stars from the glasses of the greenhouses. A quiet laughter was heard. "Is someone here?" she thought. She turned around a corner and saw a couple there. The couple was surprised to find somebody was there, too. "Noin!" a male voice was heard. Noin looked at the couple more carefully under the dim light. It was Zechs and Matilda, holding hands with each other. "Good evening, Matilda, Zechs." Noin could only say these words, she was really surprised. Matilda blushed deeply and took a step to stand behind Zechs. "So, you have a walk here, too." Zechs said, quite unnaturally. "Yes," Noin said, feeling really embarrassed. "see you tomorrow. Good night." She quickly turned away and walked home. 

As she shut her door, she smiled. "Finally, Zechs got a girl friend." she thought. She was happy about that. Someone could accompany him and comfort him besides her. It was good to have Matilda with him. She was outgoing and loving, she could surely free him from his nightmares. She did not experience the Eve War, that would do a lot of help to him. She had a purer soul and possibly she could help Zechs to start a new life with a carefree soul, as Noin hoped for years. She closed her eyes, and saw both the sad and lost look and the rarer smiling faces of Zechs. She smiled and prayed, "Bless him, angels in the heaven." She thought. Suddenly, she felt something rolling down her eyes. It was wet. She picked up a mirror and saw tears running down her face. "What's wrong with you, Noin?" she asked herself. She could not tell, she just felt the sadness raised from the deepest part of her heart. "You should be happy," she murmured. "he now has a new chance to start a new life again. Isn't it what you hoped for years?" She bit her lips and cursed herself. The more she wanted to suppress her sadness, the more it raised. Luckily, her tears have stopped flowing out. The phone rang. It was Lady Une. "Fire, there is an urgent situation in L4. Do you think you can leave for L4 the day after tomorrow?" "What's the matter?" asked Fire, drying the last drop of her tears. "It's an old military base in L4. There will be some investigations and repairing work. We need an experienced preventer there." Lady Une briefed the situation. "I'll go." Fire answered directly.

The next day, she found a file on her desk about the coming mission. She quickly arranged the things, distributing the workloads and typed out a list of things. This kept her busy for the whole day. In the evening, Fire called Wind, "Wind, please come for a really short meeting." Wind came, Fire spoke as shortly as possible, "Wind, I'm going for another urgent mission tomorrow. It's so urgent that I had little time to talk to you about this." "Tomorrow?" Wind was surprised. Ignoring him, Fire continued, "This is the list of things to be done. They're just some minor follow-ups. And these are the people you can contact to monitor the progress." Wind collected the paper. "I've also given a copy to Matilda. Thanks for helping, Wind." Fire really had no time for more conversation. Wind noticed that and said goodbye and went away.


	15. "It's too late"

"It's too late

"It's too late."

It has been seven months since Noin has gone to L4. The reason for her to go became obvious when she studied the case carefully in the military base. The military base was served as an intelligence agency in old times. Although it has been abandoned for three years, the information was still intact in the main computer and the files. When Preventers first took over it, the authority thought that it was a central station of a mass communication system as it was stated. As the Preventers renovated it to restore its original 'function', the workers found that there were some mysterious data in the whole system. Lady Une sent Fire to find out the data with the computer experts. It was not a difficult job, Fire just needed to read the data and supervise the renovation. She usually spent her evening in practicing running and other fitness exercises. When she had enough time, she went sport climbing. Then she would collect some information from the computer and answered some emails. Zechs has sent her emails, talking a variety of things. She found that kind of communication was really good because she could read the things over and over again. As for the mountaineers, they still kept in contact with Noin and they had a very detailed discussion of the coming trip. The trip would be a very challenging one.

"So, the data would be transported back to the headquarter on Earth tomorrow, and all the electronic appliances will be destroyed two days later, right?" Fire asked another preventer beside her. "Yes, then the data will only be stored there and remain highly confidential for the next five decades." The other one replied. "That's the best way to deal with this problem. So, our mission's finished. Thanks for helping, Preventer Forte." said Fire, shaking hands with Preventer Forte. "Thanks, Preventer Fire. I've really learned a lot from you." the other said. "Holiday, at last!" Fire thought. She has been waiting for that for nearly a year. "This holiday will surely be a meaningful one." "Preventer Fire," an officer called her from behind. "Yes." "Preventer Wind is waiting for you outside." the officer said. "Oh, thanks. I'll go now." She said, as she was walking towards the exit. "Wind, what's the matter?" Fire asked cheerfully. Zechs was a little bit unhappy when Noin called him 'Wind'. "I thought you're off duty now. So, we can have dinner together. See, it's eight o'clock." "Wait for five more minutes, I'm going to change my uniform." Noin said with a smile.

As Noin was changing her clothes, Zechs thought about the scene over and over again: He was dining with Matilda. They have come together for several months already. She was a good companion, always cheerful and caring. The 'terracing project' has finally finished and they both could relax a little bit. He was talking about the things happened in daytime. As they finished their dinner, they went for a walk. Suddenly Matilda stopped and released Wind from her hand, Wind stopped too. "What's the matter, Matilda?" Matilda's voice trembled, "I can't stand this." Wind did not understand. "Why did you treat me like this?" Silence. "You don't love me, you don't even like me." Her voice was hurt. It's time for Wind to say something, "Matilda, you know that I was a pilot before. What I learned was just concentrating on my mission and be calm and cool. Expressing feelings, to me, is a very difficult thing to do…" Matilda stopped him, "Yes, you're really weak in expressing feelings, but not to me…" Tears dropped from her eyes. "To the one you loved." Wind instinctively asked, "Who is that?" "Think, Wind, think." she urged him. "You miss her all the time, the one who you care most." The first answer flashed to his mind: Noin. So, he traveled from Mars to L4 to find her and also find the answer.

"Zechs," Noin called him in her casual clothes. "I'm ready." They went to a restaurant nearby. As they were having dinner, they talked merrily. The conversation between Matilda and him no longer bothered him, for they had so many things to talk about. They talked from about the routine work to the little careless mistakes they made in these months. Zechs finally realized that Noin was the only one who could make him happy and content. Before that, he missed her a lot but he did not understand why, but then he was clear. He was too happy to talk and so the conversation slowly faded. "What's happened, Zechs?" asked Noin, as they were walking in a garden. Zechs looked at her, figuring out how to tell her. "Is Matilda all right?" Noin asked with concern, looking directed at him. "Yes, she's fine. You know… Noin, it's your fault. You told me to…" He stopped; he was talking like a fool. "Zechs?" Noin asked again. "You have to tell her." Zechs told himself. He took a step and stood right in front of her, face to face. She was still looking at him with concern. "Noin, you know, Matilda and I…" His diplomatic skills were of no use. "You told me to be nice to Matilda. I do it because you're such a good friend to me and always give me good advices… You're my best friend, but I want something more. You're the one I care most and the only one who can make me happy and content… Noin … can you love me?" He finished that; it was a relief to him. He smiled because he was happy, he knew he had expressed himself completely before her. Originally, Noin expected him to talk about his nightmares, she never expected him to say such things. Did those passionate words come from Zechs? Her eyes shone with happiness, she was like a dream. Instinctively, Zechs took a step closer to her and held her hands in his. His lips almost reached hers, however Noin suddenly turned her head away. His lips brushed lightly on her cheek. Noin took one step back and freed her hands from his. Zechs was surprised. Her eyes were filled with sadness, he would never forget how sad she looked at that time. Zechs looked hurt, too. Noin slowly reached out her hand and caressed his face, "It's too late, Zechs." Noin said with a sad voice. He could only echo, "Too late?" Noin nodded, smiling bitterly. They were silent for a moment. "I'm having a two-month holiday starting from tomorrow." Noin resumed her normal tone. "See you two months later. Till then, my best friend." she said. She looked at him for a while, then she gave him a hug and returned a kiss on his cheek. She went away without looking at him.

When she arrived at home, she sat down and began to write a letter.


	16. The Accident

The Accident

The Accident 

Zechs slowly sank onto his sofa. Noin's voice was still with him, "It's too late, Zechs" He closed his eyes, he saw the face of Noin. She was smiling happily when he asked her to love him. Her dark eyes were so deep, yet they shone like diamonds with sparks of joy. He still remembered how she looked when she found the baby deer near the Academy and also how she smiled in the parties of the rescuers three years ago. "Why is it too late?" he puzzled. He thought of many possibilities and at last got too tired of them. It was his last day of his two-week holiday and he had to station in L4 for two months before his next holiday. "I'll ask her two months later." he thought. He wanted to ask Noin, but he was not free to do so.

Nearly two months passed, Zechs finished the last piece of work before his holiday started. He was planned anxious and planned to go to Lake Victoria Academy, where Noin would work there for her next mission. He never realized that he cared for her so much, and he really wanted to know why she said it was too late for him to ask her to love him. He has packed his things already and was reading a small note. He smiled, it was the note that Noin wrote in the Academy many years ago. He kept it because it was the only letter he had received from a friend. Suddenly the telephone rang. "Zechs," it was a soft female voice. "Lady Une, good evening." Zechs answered, puzzling why she did not call him Wind and also said things in a soft way. "I hope you haven't slept yet." she said. She seemed very careful in speaking. "Oh, not yet." Zechs replied, guessing what she wanted to say. "So, you're going there tomorrow?" she asked. "I'm going to Lake Victoria Academy." Zechs said, he smiled at the thought. "Don't you know that?" Lady Une was a little bit surprised. "Do you know where Noin went in her holiday?" Lady Une continued. Zechs thought for a while, "I just know it is somewhere on Earth." Lady Une seriously said, "Zechs, I know it's difficult to stand but please let me finish. Noin went mountain climbing two months ago. She was with other eleven mountaineers and they wanted to conquer a mountain called K2 in Asia." She paused; Zechs' blood went cold, "Yes." "The weather was not stable in the high mountain. The back-up team has lost contact with the climbing team members." Lady Une tried carefully to choose the wording. "Then?" Zechs asked nervously. "It has been nearly 2 weeks since they last got the news from the climbing team members, including Noin." Zechs was stunned. "Zechs, are you still…" Lady Une asked with concern. "Where's K2?" Zechs asked abruptly interrupted her. "It's north to the Indian Peninsula. For the details, maybe you can check the atlas." "Yes, sure. Thanks, Lady Une, for telling me." "She'll be all right." He tried to comfort himself. "She can always take care of herself." He then booked another ticket which would take him to a town near K2. He also brought the little note written by Noin. 

Next morning, he received a phone call from Lady Une. He was disappointed to know that Noin was still nowhere to be found but he was glad that Lady Une gave him a telephone number of the rescue team. He read the map over and over again. K2 was just a small point on map. He has flied over it several times before, but he never viewed it from ground level. What did it look like? Why did Noin want to climb this mountain? He sighed; he then realized how little he knew about Noin. They were the best friends of each other. He knew her way of thinking when she worked very well. She was a strong soldier, with a strong mind and strength. However, he knew little about the other side of her. He just knew that she felt sorry and guilty towards her parents' death. Also, she loved her home and the mountains. "Please be all right, Noin." Zechs thought.

When he finally arrived at a small inn in a small town near K2, he immediately phoned the rescue team. First, he asked whether they found Noin or not. The news was a bad one. Not only Noin has not been found yet, the whole searching had to stop due to the extremely strong storm high up in the mountain. It was the strongest storm in twenty years, even stronger than the storm ten years ago. The rescuers had to stay back and wait until the storm died down. The rescuers did not even know where the climbing team members were. They did not sure whether they had enough clothing and food. They did not know what happened up there and why the climbing team lost contact with the back-up team. Generally speaking, they knew nothing about the climbing team and could not do anything to help them. All the news has dragged Zechs to the land of disappointment. He demanded himself to stay calm. Then he asked how he could get there. "I'm sorry. But you can't help anything, even you come." the man politely said. "I'm just asking how I can get there?" Zechs lowered his voice. "You have to walk six days in order to get here." the man said. "What?" Zechs' heart screamed. "Aren't there any transportation vehicles?" Zechs said dryly. "No, except helicopters." Zechs' throat went dry, he could not produce a sound. He could do nothing to help her. 

For the next five days, Zechs was nearly driven mad. He had nothing to do but poked about for the news. He was deeply worried, nothing could distract him. He did not feel hungry or tired. He just wandered around, thinking all about Noin. He even wanted to walk to the base camp of the rescue team.

Noin struggled to open her eyes, the wind was too strong. She shivered all the time because she was very cold. She did not know the temperature and the time. She curled like a ball and sat on a platform. It was a big piece of ice, and it also sheltered her a little bit. She has not eaten anything for five days. Some of her teammates lost their balances on the soft snow and rolled down slope in the storm. She did not remember what things followed, but she just knew that after some accidents, she was left alone, somewhere 6000m above sea level, in the midst of a storm. She began her journey back to the base camp but the storm became stronger and stronger and it blocked her way. At last, she found the shelter and stayed there waiting for help. She slowly moved her eyes to a black thing near her. It was plastic-like. She slowly reached her hands out and held it in one of her hands. She looked at it and smiled with great effort. She looked up, "What a sunny day!" she thought. She began to lose her consciousness. A gust blew over her, she felt warm. "It's wind. Yes, Wind always brings me warmth." Then, she took a long sleep.

When Zechs heard that Noin was found, he was very excited. He quickly went to the hospital. He waited anxiously and nervously outside the operation theatre. He kept wandering around the corridor. Noin had been sent to the room for six hours already and nothing was heard from inside. He just saw doctors running in and out of the room. He could not get any information from them, all he could do was just to wait .

Zechs' look was empty and lost. No language or even wording in the world could describe his feelings at that moment. Although the walls of the hospital were spotlessly white, he felt he was in endless darkness. "Why?" he uttered. "Why do the ones I care most in my life have to leave me so suddenly?" His face showed no expressions. He was standing in front of a big window with the curtains drawn close. His heart was aching so strongly that he felt as if it were broken. The curtains were drawn open, he could not believe his eyes. 'That thing' was not Noin, it couldn't be. 'It' was wrapped heavily by bandages on the limbs and with tubes penetrating in and out. The boring, high-pitched sound from the life-sustaining machine was heard, indicating 'it' was still a living thing. Suddenly, someone tapped gently on his shoulder; it was a man with a familiar face. "Zechs? Do you still remember me?" No response was given from Zechs. "I'm Mario; we've met in the party." Zechs nodded his head slightly. "Here's a letter from Noin to you, she wrote it before the expedition." He handed the white envelop to Zechs who slowly took it. His hands were shaking as he opened the envelop and read the letter.

Dear Zechs,

When you read this letter, I think something bad his happened on me. Don't be sad, I'm prepared for it. Zechs, I'm sorry that you are not the first one to know the news. I think if it is Lady Une who told you the news, you'll feel better. You've been my best friend always and will be forever. Thanks for the happy memories, especially those in the Academy.

Zechs, I have to tell you something, but I don't know how to tell you. We can never forget the things happened in the past or suppress the memories, they are deep inside our hearts. Just like when you throw a stone into a pond, there will be ripples for a while and the water will be calm again, however, the stone will still be at the bottom of the pond. I know you still blame heavily on yourself about your past and you want to reject your memories. Zechs, although you did some thing wrong, your idea was right. You did not mean to hurt so many people. The most important thing is that you're now doing the right things. I just hope that one day when you look at your past again, you can feel comfortable with a care-free mind. Start your new life, you can choose to live happily with the one you loved in the rest of your life.

If I'm lucky enough, I'll meet you parents in the heaven. I'll tell them what good children they had and I'm sure they'll be proud of you.

Your friend,

Noin

Zechs let his tears flowing down his cheeks. He finally knew what Noin was thinking in these years. When he read the letter, he thought he heard Noin reading the whole letter to him. Her voice was so caring. He has heard that many times before, but could he still hear it in the future? Finally, he was permitted to go into the ward. Noin was suffering from pneumonia, hypothermia and some physical injuries. The doctors have tried their best to save her; they took the dead tissues away from her limbs. She looked as if she suffered several blows on her face, even she fought in the war, she would never suffer like that. Zechs slowly sat down near her, examining her. "Noin," he pleaded. "Please don't go away… don't go away like this." Her hands were wrapped in thick bandages, he held her hand and caressed it gently. "Noin, I'll be here for you. Try your best." Although the doctors thought Noin could not live for more than a day, little by little, she managed to survive after the long day.

It was then three weeks after Noin had admitted to the hospital. She was still in critical condition and her condition was stable. Zechs has stayed in the hospital for nearly twenty hours each day. He did not want to leave her alone to fight. One day, Mario found him. "Zechs, you look tired. Go home and take a rest." he said. However, Zechs ignored him. Mario shook his head, he knew that Zechs was weary and he needed a rest. He sat near Zechs, "Have you heard that Noin was holding something when she was found?" Mario asked. Zechs looked at him puzzling. "It's Uncle Noin's body. After ten years, Noin has finally found her father." Zechs asked, "Did Noin's father die in the K2?" Mario nodded, "Do you like to go with me and bury him near Noin's home?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~**~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~**~*~*~~**~*~*~**

Thanks May! You've encouraged me so much!


	17. Final

The Man with Long Hair John Law Student 3 2 2001-11-04T07:13:00Z 2001-11-04T07:14:00Z 3 2672 15231 Hewlett-Packard 126 30 18704 9.4119 0 2 

**Final**

        Zechs was traveling on a plane. He was very busy after his holiday. He made himself busy, so that he could think of something else other than Noin. Mario had explained something to Zechs, which comforted him a little. The first thing was that all mountaineers loved mountains, Noin was no exception. For this, Zechs understood perfectly, since he had the same passion for combating. The second thing was that Noin was very excited about the trip. This trip, for Noin, was dedicated to her father, who was also a mountaineer. Noin wanted to experience the joy his father had. Days passed and month passed, Noin was still unconscious. Everyone was shook by the news. Relena, Sally and even Lady Une have visited her, but in vain, Noin still hasn't shown any signs of awake. Sometimes, Zechs received a call saying Noin's condition turned bad and after a few hours, he would received a call saying she was OK again.

        Zechs was in the corridor again. During the fifteen months after Noin was admitted to the hospital, he slowly began to lose hope. Each time he visited her, she was just like a motionless and lifeless body. But then, he put these thoughts away. The doctors told him that she had wakened up and he was going to see her. He was very nervous. He couldn't guess and he couldn't even think of what he is going to say. "Ah…ah!" It was her voice, but it sounded a little bit childish. He smiled and went into the room. Noin was sitting in the bed with any bandages. The doctors were having some check-ups. Zechs stood near the door and waited. He was so glad to see Noin looking so healthy again. At last, the doctors finished and Zechs went into the room. "Thanks, doctors. Good afternoon, Noin." he said cheerfully. The doctors were surprised to find him there and looked at Noin nervously. Noin stared at him as if she did not know him at all. As Zechs wanted to call her again, the doctor cut in. "Mr. Marquise, can I talk to you for a little while?" Zechs immediately sensed something. The doctor looked rather uneasy when they both came out of the ward. "How's she?" asked Zechs, prepared for some bad news. "Mr. Marquise, the hypothermia Miss Noin suffered clearly caused some damages to her brain neurons." Zechs waited. "She forgets everything." The doctor made it as short as possible. The doctor continued to explain, not only Noin forgot the things happened in the past, but the skills of daily life like walking, talking, etc. The conclusion was, "She is now practically a 2 year-old kid." When the doctor repeatedly tells him there were still a high probably for Noin to retrieve her memory. Zechs ignored him. He has lost her finally. He has lost the one he cared most and understood him most. He felt so lost and the world seemed full of strangers again. He wanted to go away from the hospital. He passed the ward and went into it. He felt as if it was the last time he went to see her. "I can't stand this. Everyone I cared and loved leaves me, I've to cut this pain short." he thought as he went into the ward. Noin was asleep after having her dinner, Zechs sat near her, planning to say the last goodbye to her and leave her there alone. He looked closely at her, she was sleeping peacefully. She was not beautiful, but Zechs could feel the power and gentleness on her face, just like in the old times. Was she the same person as Noin he knew so well? Did he really lose her? Zechs smiled, he heard the answer form the very depth of his heart.

        For the next half a year, Noin stayed inside the hospital to learn how to walk, how to eat and how to read. She slowly retrieved her memories, but she still forgot her friends. She knew that the man with the pale skin and platinum hair was called Milliando Peacecraft. He told Noin that he was her friend and would take care of her. She liked him because he was the only visitor and he was gentle and nice.

        Noin was very excited because Milliando was taking her home. She did not remember how her home was and was eager to see it herself. After getting off the bus, Milliando walked with her. On her way, Noin enjoyed the view. There were grasses everywhere and the sky was so blue. She liked the smell of the grasses and the sound of the wind and the singing of the birds. She took a deep breath, this place was much better than the hospital, and she fell in love with this place at once. After as one-hour walk, they finally arrived. Noin's home was a cottage with only one storey. It was not a big one but it gave her a very warm feeling. Milliando opened the door to let Noin in. The furniture inside was simple and clean. There was a small fireplace on the left-hand side of the door. Her family photos were still in the same place. Noin walked around the room and tried to remember the things. Milliando watched her closely, hoping she would remember something. When he found that she did not remember anything, he just said, "Let me show you your room." And so they spent the whole day in the house. Since Relena and Sally were very busy at that time, Milliando was the only one who could take care of Noin . Lady Une has assigned Milliando to a place not far away from Noin's home. It was lucky that a road had finally paved uphill, so that Milliando could drive to work within two hours. Noin would accompany an old lady living downhill in the daytime. That kind old lady was really glad that Noin came back. "She is such a good child." she told Milliando. At night, Milliando and Noin would stay in the living room. Sometimes, Milliando would continue his work there. Noin often read aloud to him. She read everything she could find: newspaper, her father's notes and even storybooks. She still had difficulties in recognizing some words but Milliando helped her when she did not understand. She was interested in the stories he told her. However, Milliando did not sure whether he could tell her things happened in the wars. He knew Noin hate wars. Was it possible for her to skip all those memories?

        It was two years after the accident, Noin still remembered nothing. A week later, she was going to live with Relena because Milliando had a new mission. One day, Milliando came home a little bit late. An old man living at the foot of the mountain stopped him and offered him a drink. It was a tonic mixed by the old man. It was quite strong and Milliando just had one. Noin was reading her father's notes. She was very excited because the information were so interesting. She enjoyed reading the notes and sometimes she read them to Milliando. She thought Milliando enjoyed them, too. The notes were full of pictures and there was a very special picture inside which caught her attention. She read the text carefully. At that time, the door was opened. "Milliando," Noin exclaimed. "Look at this." She showed the picture eagerly. Milliando smiled, although Noin was a bit childish, he knew perfectly this was the happiest moment for her in these years. He took a look at the picture and stopped smiling instantly. Noin did not notice that, she said, "Milliando, do you like this mountain? It's K2, it's really very beautiful. I want to climb it again." She looked at him and Milliando looked at her in a rather worried look. She continued, "See, it's the 'sa…a mountain', the 'perfect py...mid'." "Savage and pyramid." Milliando said. "Oh, savage and pyramid. Yes, the mountain is so beautiful. One day, I'll go for the peak again." "Noin, do you remember you had an accident there?" Milliando simply asked. "Yes, but it's really beautiful. I'll climb to the peak and take pictures from it." Her excitement grew more and more. "No." Milliando solemnly said. He remembered the hard days in these two years, the lost and desperate feelings, he didn't want to experience them again. "Why?" Noin was disappointed. "Because it's dangerous. It nearly took your life once." Milliando answered. Noin tried to argue back, "Milliando, look at the pictures again, the mountain is so beautiful. Even if it's dangerous to go there, I'll go there!" She still had a limited vocabulary, but it is enough for her to express her feelings. Suddenly, Milliando grasped her firmly with his hands on her shoulders and made her stand face to face to him. He looked straight into her eyes and did not realize how firm he grasped her. "Noin, why do you want to leave me so soon?" Noin was shocked, Miliando's face was stern and she did not understand what he asked. She looked into his eyes, they looked sad and in pain. "Milliando…" she tried to say something good. At this time, Milliando drew her closer to him. Noin was stiffened in his arms, after a while, she asked, "Are you OK?" Milliando released her, smiling sadly, "I'm OK. It's late now. Let's go to bed."

        For the next few days, things went normally. Noin seemed to forget the things happened that night. She continued to read her father's notes, dreaming one day she could climb those mountains again. One night, it was already half past ten and still there was no sign of Milliando. Suddenly, she heard a hollow, hair-straightening cry, "Woo…" After a few seconds, a distant cry echoed, "Woo…" Noin shivered, that sound was familiar to her ears. A wave of fear swept through her heart. "Who's that?" she cried. A nearer sound answered, "Woo…" She listened carefully, nothing was heard again. She was scared. Was Milliando still on his way home? Was he safe? Was he… Overcome by the anxiety and fear, she ran out of the house and headed downhill. As she ran, she remembered the hollow, lonely cries were from the wolves. Recently, there was heavy rainfall in the region and caused a shortage of food for wild animals in the woods. The hunger drove a herd of wolves from the other side of the mountain to the side where Noin lived and caused some disturbances to the residents. As Noin ran down the slope, she cried, "Milliando, where are you?" She called several times, but still there were only the answers from the wolves. She was very nervous; a voice from the deepest part of her heart struggled to escape from her throat, "Zechs!" She did not know the meaning of the word; she just felt that if she shouted this word out, maybe Milliando would answer back. "Milliando, Zechs!" She was already half the way down the hill.

        "My goodness!" Milliando exclaimed softly. He saw clearly, the thirty shining eyes around him. "I've never met so many wolves before." Milliando said. His car has been broken down, so he decided to walk uphill. He looked at the full moon and lightly touched his shirt. It was stained with some sauce. "Are you interested in cooked meat?" he asked half-jokingly. He quickly took a glance to the surroundings. The wolves were behind the bushes and there was only one way out. He slowly moved back, still facing the wolves. Thanked to the notes of Noin's father, he has learned something about living in the wild. After moving away in a certain distance, he turned around and ran as fast as he could. "Zechs!" He heard something. "Milliando!" "Noin, stay back!" Milliando shouted. He saw Noin standing 50m away. Finally, he ran and took her hand and they ran together. The wolves were still behind them. They ran and ran and suddenly they fell into a hole. "Are you all right?" Milliando quickly asked as they were at the bottom of the hole. "I'm OK." Noin answered. She looked up, the wolves were howling above them. "It's fine. We'll go home soon." Milliando comforted her. They went silent for a few minutes. Then, Milliando suddenly asked, "What did you call me just now." "Milliando and Zechs." was the answer. Milliando felt his heart beating faster and stronger. "Why?" "Because I thought you would answer me if I shout the word." Noin said. "She remembers something!" Milliando's heart beat wildly. "Do you know the meaning of 'Zechs'?" "No." Noin felt a little bit sorry. "It means 'six', you used to call me like this." Noin nodded with a word. Several minutes later, Noin suddenly asked, "Milliando, have I annoyed you before?" Milliando answered gently, "Why, no." "I have had the same dream for several nights. In the dream, you're holding a whip and prepare to beat me. I woke up and felt very frightened." She looked at him, Milliando could clearly see that she was scared. No, never a hundred thousand times would he think of beating her. No… only once, once when he was in Epyon. He felt his pulse stopped. Noin looked at him, waiting for the answer. She felt that Milliando was sad after she told him her dream. She tried to comfort him by looking caringly and softly with her dark eyes. Milliando was astounded by this intent gaze. He looked straightly into her eyes, saying in the old friendliness, "No, never. You're my best friend, and gives me good advices all the time." At last, the wolves went away and they walked back home.

        Milliando was sleepless this night, because next morning, he would take Noin to Relena's home, since he had a mission in space. He thought about everything happened after Noin had the accident. Noin was still the old Noin he knew, being truthful, kind and firm in her will. She smiled a lot more for the last few months and their relationship did not change much. He sighed, Noin remembered something but still Milliando was not free to tell her his feeling towards her. Suddenly, he heard a cry, a cry of great pain and in desperation. Then he heard the sound of the swinging of the door. "Papa…" Milliando jumped out from his bed, he quickly ran out of the room. Noin was running towards the door in the living room. "Noin, what's happened?" he asked. But Noin did not hear this; she opened the door and ran out of the house. Outside, it was thundering with heavy showers, Noin was wearing only her sleeping clothes and ran in the rain. Without a second thought, Milliando wore his shoes and followed her. She was running very fast, as in the old times. Luckily, Noin has not fully recovered yet and when she was half the way to the hilltop, Milliando caught her and pinned her down to the ground. It was dangerous for two people running in the thunderstorm. Milliando quickly helped her up to her feet, but she was struggling wildly. She wanted to go up and screamed wildly, "Papa… Papa!" At last, Milliando had no choice but to put her on his shoulder and carried her home. On the way, Noin was silent and stopped struggling. He shut the door immediately after they were back. "Noin, what's happened?" Milliando asked with concern, moving closer to her, who was sitting against the door with looking at him. No answer. "Noin," he patted her shoulder. She pushed him away without looking at him. Milliando was surprised, her hands were icy cold and there was certain coldness in her movement. "Tell me, Noin." he spoke as natural as possible. "Stay away from me." Noin said dryly. "You'll leave me alone soon." A pause. "Like papa, mama, uncle and …" She couldn't continue. "It's no point staying near me and disappear tomorrow. Let me go." It was rather a demand than a request. But Milliando chose to disobey it. "Release me." Noin said in a low voice. "Why? Let me go! Why…" She burst into tears. Milliando understood there were hidden meanings behind. "Noin." She struggled again. "Lucrezia!" he said gently. This is the very name she was called in her childhood with her happy memories. Milliando understood this perfectly. As he expected, Noin calmed down a little bit and began to sob again. "Papa, I miss you so much. Why did you leave me alone there? Why is it you? Those black faces, those twisted expressions… why?" she asked bitterly. It was the first time she sobbed like this. Then she went on, talking about the sorrows of her mother's wedding, Zechs' disappearance and her mother and uncle's death. Everything came so suddenly, one after the other. Actually Noin had no time to mourn for the deaths until then. She was so absorbed in the past and blamed herself for everything. "I hate winds." she ended. "Wind…" Milliando echoed. The long suppressed emotion was released, the pain, the sadness and every other thing. They were still sitting against the door; none of them exchanged a word. At last, Milliando decided to break the silence, "Noin, it's good for you to cry and tell me everything. Do you still remember what you wrote to me? I've tried it and you should, too. We can't live in the past or we can't do things because of somebody else. Nearly everything you did from joining the OZ to joining the Preventers, you did it because of someone else. Choose a path for yourself. Choose it, Noin." Milliando gently looked at her and patted her shoulder. Noin was still silent. "I've been a fool, Noin." he said, sighing. "I should tell you the position you made yourself in." He said with a lighter tone, "Just tell me which mountain you're climbing when you want to, so that I know where I can find you and wait for you." "Don't you mind me climbing the K2 again?" Noin asked, raising her head and looked at him. "No, just make sure you can come back safely." He was more passionate than he would like to show. "Are you sure?" Noin asked. He nodded his head, Noin smiled. She was happy; at last, her best friend and her had a thorough understanding of each other. Pictures of her parents slowly emerged before her eyes, "Papa, mama, I promise I'll take care of myself." her heart said. "I'll choose my path and continued to live well." Her parents were smiling at her, the sweetest memories would always in her heart, accompanying her and encouraging her to face challenges.

        Milliando looked at her silently, she wore that smile again. It reminded him of that moment in the park. "Noin," he asked. "do you remember everything?" The answer that Milliando prayed for days and nights came out. "Yes." Noin saw him smiling and his eyes showed the sparks of joy she never saw before. She smiled in return. Milliando hugged her warmly, but Noin pushed him away. "I understand, I'm sorry." Milliando slowly said, he looked defeated and prepared to go away. Noin blushed deeply, she never blushed before, her face was red all over. "Milliando, you're so…" Noin whispered, for her heart beating fast. "I don't let you hug me but it doesn't mean …" Even the 'old' Noin couldn't find the right word for her feeling this time. "We're wet, you know. We've to get some dry clothes or we'll get a cold." Milliando laughed quietly for he understood perfectly what she wanted to say. The storm has gone and the breeze brought the morning air in. 


End file.
